The Long, Hard Road
by Onhiro
Summary: Ruby has survived long enough to make it to the best hospital in Vale. However, her wounds are very severe, and her battle is just beginning. The road ahead of her will be long and hard, filled with challenges the likes of which she has never experienced before, and she will need all the support from her friends that she can get. But her strength is not small, and she will fight!
1. The Price Paid

**AN- This is the continuation of Things Lost. This fic, as evidenced by the title, will follow Ruby as she travels down the long, hard road of recovery. Some action in this story, and it will definitely be rated M, as Ruby is going to go through a lot, and she and the rest of her teammates are going to see some things that are hard to bear.**

**A bit of background, I worked on the ICU as a Nursing Assistant, so I understand the daily life of patients. I am not, however, a nurse or a doctor. I am not authorized in the slightest to give any sort of medication, and my knowledge of more advanced medical procedures is somewhat limited. However, for what Ruby is going to be going through, what I know should be enough. Anyone in the audience who has medical knowledge/training, feel free to correct any glaring mistakes that I make. Thanks!**

**While there isn't likely to be any character death (I don't think), there is still going to be death in this story, and it might be a bit emotional. This story, then, is an homage to all hospital workers out there and all patients who need, really need, the care found in Emergency Departments, ICUs, and medical floors. Ours is a difficult and oftentimes thankless job. We are screamed at, peed and shit upon, sometimes assaulted, and we get to know people only for them to die in our care, because that's what they wanted and needed. All this and more is going to be in this story.  
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**This story, my readers, is going to be my most personal fic that I have ever put up, because while the characters are fake and the world is fictional, it is all too real to me. I live this, every day. Tread lightly, please, and remember that in your comments. The patients will not be real, and shall have more than just their names changed from any real patients that I may have encountered, but my experiences, both uplifting and tragic, will take a part in this story.**

**As always, read, enjoy, and please review! Your thoughts are terribly important to me.**

**Edit 22 Feb 2016: Not much of a change, Yang just remembers almost losing her arm when fighting Adam Taurus during the big battle against the Faunus. The changes are mostly found in the second paragraph. Enjoy!**

The Price Paid

Her baby sister shouldn't be so still. Yang looked down from the observation room as the surgical team moved in a complicated yet intricately seamless dance around the operation room. She watched as they cut away ruined flesh, clamped torn blood vessels, and sawed away bone. She sighed heavily, heart aching as she looked away, if only to steel herself for the next look at the quiet, still body on the brightly lit table. By the time she and Weiss had arrived, Ruby had been prepped for emergency surgery, x-rays and CT scans revealing the extent of the damage. The surgeon had found her just before the operation began, and explained what he was going to be doing in a solemn, matter-of-fact voice. She had wanted to scream at him as he told her that the damage to her right arm was too severe, they couldn't save the amputated portion. _She's my sister, you fuck, act like you care!_ she had wanted to scream as he quickly pointed out the terribly dislocated elbow, the crushed radius, the burnt ulna.

"We're going to have to amputate above the elbow," he had said with as much passion as if he was discussing a tragedy on the other side of the continent, and her hand had reflexively gone to the deep scar on her right arm, where Adam had nearly cut it off. The memory of fire, of screams in the distance, and of thick, desperate fear overwhelmed her for a moment, and she took a moment to again realize just how lucky she had been. The only reason she had been able to keep her arm attached was the split second realization that the bastard was baiting her. A minor shift to her stance resulted in his sword striking Ember Celica rather than unprotected flesh. Even so, it had cut deep, splitting her radius and cutting halfway into her ulna. The pain and shock had been so much that she had passed out. But at least she had kept her arm, whereas Ruby…she had felt her eyes start to go red, but then she had to force herself to face the grim reality of this poor surgeon. This was the best trauma center in all of Vale; to this man, Ruby was just another patient. A terrible thing had happened, and he was going to do the best to fix it, but he had to have done operations just like this dozens of times, and had operated on those worse off who knew how many times?

It had been nigh impossible for her to swallow her rage and calm down enough to ask the right questions, but somehow she managed, if only barely. "Her eye?" Entirely destroyed, all the Aura in the world couldn't bring it back. After the amputation, he was going to clean out the socket. "The burns?" Stabilized with emergency Aura, but thirty percent of her face was badly burnt, second and third degree. The primary concern was the arm and her airways, but after she was stabilized, skin grafts might be an option. "Any other injuries?" Yes. We spotted internal bleeding in multiple areas, three of which require surgical intervention. "Am I allowed to observe the procedure." Ordinarily, no, but given the patient's identity and the circumstances surrounding her injury, you and you alone are allowed to watch, as you are her only family that we were able to get in contact with. Would you like security to escort you to the observation room? "Yes, please."

A big and solid looking dog Faunus had taken her to the room where she now stood, and offered his most sincere condolences as he excused himself. And now she was alone in the dark room, thoughts and heart tortured as she looked down into the impassive, bright hell that was steadily tearing her sister apart in an attempt to save her life. Never before had she felt so helpless, so damn useless! Even as deep in her torturous thoughts as she was, she was still alert enough to hear the soft shift of fabric behind her.

She blinked, straightened, turning her head slightly to the side. "Why am I not surprised that you managed to get in here?" she asked into the darkness.

"Sebastian and I know each other. The security field is not so large that two Faunus in high ranking positions would be unknown to each other."

Yang glanced back at Blake, taking in the trenchcoat, the gloves, the slicked back haircut, and the bandage along her cheek. The Crimson Claw had been determined, and had managed to wound more than just the one of them. Again that rage roared up in an inferno that screamed for justice, for revenge, and she remembered the feeling of skull collapsing under her gauntleted fist with relish. Feeling the flames crackle around her as the room lit up with her Aura, she forced herself to breathe deep and slow. Last thing that she wanted was to set the fire alarm off.

Blake watched her with calm eyes almost freakishly devoid of passion. But Yang knew well enough that her girlfriend had long mastered the art of appearing stoic even when she was wracked by emotion. If she felt even an iota of the feeling that Yang was, she must be concentrating very hard on appearing cool, calm, and collected. "Blake…how did we let this happen?" she asked, voice tortured as she shot another glance at her sister. Oh, God, they had completed the amputation, skin loose around an upper arm that would never again lead to a living elbow and hand. The surgeon paused, one of his assistants wiping his brow, and he made a comment that had the room nodding.

Blake said nothing for moments that dragged into eternity, instead choosing to walk up next to Yang, resting her head against Yang's shoulder. Yang blinked, shocked. If Blake was looking for comfort like this in a public space, she must have been much more shaken up than Yang had expected. Without thought, Yang brought her arm around her lover, holding her closer. They stood in silence, drawing comfort from each other's presence. But finally Blake sighed. "They have been getting more and more dangerous and intelligent. Maybe we've killed all the stupid ones, I don't know. But now we're going to have to install even more security measures." She made a growling noise, deep in her throat. "That's going to take even more time and money, and those bastards will figure out new ways around them. Bloody vicious cycle!"

Yang squeezed her, bringing her even closer. "Hey, you've been doing a great job! You have to admit that attacks have gone down, and that more and more shipments have been reaching their destinations since you took over security."

Blake scoffed, even as her hands came up and fisted in Yang's jacket. "But what attacks remain are getting more and more deadly. What can I do to stop the madness? The more of these attacks occur, the more humans think we are monsters!"

Yang crooned softly, petting the back of Blake's head. "It's okay, it'll be okay," she whispered, even as she looked down on bloody evidence that proved that things _wouldn't_ be okay, not for a long time. "What about the White Fang? The more peaceful factions have finally been getting recognized as peaceful organizations in the other cities. Maybe they'll be interested in helping fight against the Crimson Claw. Your last intel report said that both groups were hostile towards each other, right?"

"…Yeah. I don't know, though, I'll have to talk to some of my contacts. I don't know how willing they'd be to help the SDC."

"You've done so much already, of course they'll be willing to help! Schnee Dust is _the_ leading company in Faunus work rights, and that's because of you and Weiss! The White Fang can't ignore that. If Weiss is assassinated, things will surely deteriorate, even the most stubborn of White Fang members should see that, right?"

"I don't know…some of the goat Faunus can be really stubborn," Blake retorted in a deadpan voice.

Yang couldn't help it. The laugh wasn't long…more of a surprised snort of amusement than a chuckle, but it was something. "Well, we'll work with some of the other Faunus, the more open-minded ones. And last I checked, the new leadership liked Ruby after she helped them with that Grimm infestation and the violent crowd of humans."

"Yeah, that is true." Again, they stood in silence, watching the surgeon make a small, skilled incision on Ruby's stomach, assistants and nurses standing by with various tools and suction tubes. Even in her uneducated eyes, Yang could see that this team really did work very well together. "Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that they're mad that we missed our reservation at the restaurant?"

It was the dry tone more than the words that had Yang give out a bark of laughter. Good grief, two jokes in only a few minutes…Blake was really trying to get her mind off of what had happened. "If they are, fuck 'em. We'll have Junior send his goons to go mess with them."

"Nothing too serious, I trust?" Blake asked drily.

"Nah, of course not. A couple of bad reviews, maybe overacting the parts of gangsters, nothing permanent. 'Hey, waiter, I asked for the filet mignon to be shaped like a fish, what gives?' she asked in a mockingly deep voice.

"I think that that's just about the best that they could manage."

"Heh. Did I ever tell you about how a bunch of them were beat up when they tried to rob a shop that Ru…" she started, and then drew to a close, grin fading quickly, her eyes once again looking down as the surgeon tied off a row of neat stiches that closed his incision in Ruby's toned stomach.

Blake frowned, grabbing Yang's hand tenderly. "Hey, there's nothing more that we can do from up here. Let's go. I'm sure that there's a veritable crowd waiting for some news. And Weiss…she's alone right now."

Yang sighed, tightening her fingers around Blake's. "Yeah, you're right. He knows what he's doing, doesn't need to worry about me jumping through the window to beat him up if I think he messed up or something."

The door opened, and closed. Silence once more reigned in the dark room that continued to bear witness to the efforts of the team down below, racing to fix what damage they could before time ran out for one of the most renowned huntresses on the entire continent. This room, and others like it, had all watched, and would continue to watch as those who paid the heavy price of the preservation of civilization came under the scalpels of those who sought to reverse, to lessen the price carved out of flesh by those who wished malice upon the protectors of Vale. The rooms had seen glorious victory and heartbreaking defeat, but one fact had always rang true. The price paid was heavy, at times almost unbearable, but the peace and posterity bought with wrecked and shattered bodies was worth any cost that had been or ever would be demanded of the brave men and women who answered the call of the hunters and huntresses who had gone before them. Generations before and generations after would be brought to this room for healing when their strength had failed them, secure in the knowledge that by bearing that terrible price, they ensured that civilization would continue, boldly proclaiming to the creatures of Grimm and the enemies of peace and tranquility in one fell voice, _We will not go gentle into that dark night…forevermore shall we fight! We may be broken, we may be slain, but our siblings will rise up again! Oppose us if you dare, THIS price we shall always bear!_


	2. From the Watchful Shadows

**AN: So, I had actually really wanted to get this chapter up over Labor Day weekend, but that didn't happen. Still, this chapter is pretty long, like eleven pages on Microsoft Word! Yay! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews I've been getting so far, they've been insightful and provide excellent motivation to this writer. On that note, my schedule is pretty busy (up at 0430, in bed generally around 2200, yay Army schedules!) so chapters will likely be sporadic. Sorry!**

**Anyway, this fic is likely to work on a rotational POV basis. Weiss had her POV in Things Lost, which really is like the first chapter of this story. Yang had her POV last chapter, now it's Blake's turn. Until Ruby awakens, you can expect this pattern to continue, but minor characters might have brief moments of POV stardom. These sections will be clearly marked.**

**My rambling is over, onto the chapter! As always, read, enjoy, and please review!**

From the Watchful Shadows

It was always interesting to note how certain parts of the brain simply never turned off. Even before Beacon…maybe even _especially_ before Beacon, Blake had always been hyper aware of her surroundings. And it all kept coming back to how she was a faunus. Her ears let her listen more closely, her eyes allowed her to see more clearly, and it was only the cruelest irony that her keen senses made her more aware of all attacks directed towards her because of her heritage. The very things that kept her safe were the things that brought humanity's cruel judgment and vicious attacks on her.

Of course, back then, when she was still with Adam, if anyone had told her that she'd be dating a human and that she'd be the head of security for the Schnee Dust Company…well, Gambol Shroud would have been very busy, very quickly. And yet, here she was, marching down the corridor at the Vale Medical Center, Surgical Wing, the armband bearing the SDC logo on her trench coat's sleeve announcing to the world quite clearly where her loyalty lay. An orderly walking toward her took one look at her, flinched, and stood aside.

How scary was the determined mask that she wore as a face, that the man didn't even notice Yang just a few steps behind her until they had passed him? They passed a window looking out into the night, the bright lights of the hallway turning it into an effective mirror. Ah! Well, then…maybe she should tone it down, just a tad. Yet as grim and impassive as her face may appear to those who didn't know her, her mind was racing a million miles to the minute, cataloguing intersections in the hallways, stairways and elevator shafts.

_It will be expensive_, she mused as she ran through the basic calculations. _But we mustn't let our guard down, not even for a moment_. At the moment, Ruby was just about as safe as she could be, what with three of the strongest huntresses in Vale in the same building as her, especially since all of them were prepared to make the same sacrifice that she had made, if only to ensure that no further harm came to her. But Weiss had the company to run, and Blake…as much as she hated it, her duty was by Weiss's side. She could stand constant vigil over Ruby's bedside, but that wasn't cost effective.

If anyone could be expected to stay here, it would be Yang, but Blake knew her well enough to realize that that wasn't her style. She was a dragon, and dragons hunted down threats, burning them away until nothing but cinders and ash remained. _Add another thing to do_, she groused silently. Yang was strong, but the Crimson Claw were fanatical and would do anything, bear any price if only to take down Ruby's sister. Here, with team RWBY on the defensive, they couldn't win, and they knew it. But Yang was too impulsive, and the Crimson Claw were smart enough to use that against her. She'd need back up. Blake fought the urge to sigh. She needed to talk to Weiss…where _were_ the waiting rooms?

They turned a corner, and over the whisper of her soft soled boots and the heavier tromp of Yang's combats, they could hear Weiss talking, and loudly. Blake glanced over her shoulder, and Yang met her inquisitive glance with a shrug. Then a door slid open, and the muffled, irate words became clearly understandable as Weiss stormed into the hall, one hand tightly clenching her Scroll. One look at her mad, pinched expression told Blake all that she needed to know. Weiss was talking to her father.

"I don't _care_ what you think, we're going to do it! We have a responsibility to-" she hissed, eyes sparking, but got cut off by a low, dangerous growl on the other end. Her lips thinned to a dangerous white line, a line that softened marginally when she glanced down the hall at the two of them. "Yes, _father_, I realize that he did not have any life insurance policy, and that he had turned down the policy offered by the company. But that does not change the fact that-"

Once more she got cut off, and as Blake and Yang approached her, her hand tightened more and more on the Scroll, casing creaking ominously. Finally, after listening in seething silence for a long, tense minute, she straightened, subconsciously slipping into one of the aggressive stances of her fencing style. "Mister Schnee," she began in a calm, icy voice that you almost had to strain to hear. Blake smirked. When she started getting quiet was when Weiss was the most fun. The voice on the other line silenced, though whether from the tone that would make a Death Stalker take pause or because of her use of his name, Blake didn't know. But like all master fencers, Weiss took advantage of his misstep. "_I_ am the head of the company! _I _am the one who makes _all_ executive decisions! When _I_ say that the Schnee Dust Company will honor that man's sacrifice to the company by ensuring that his family will never want again, then by _God_ it shall be so!"

The voice on the other end started to say something, but Weiss drove on. "You have no say in the matter, Mister Schnee, or did you forget that part of the contract when I took control of the company from your inept, greed blinded hands?! You will _not_ speak of this manner to me or any on the Board again, or I will review your separation packet and determine just how much I value your so called contributions as to how I should run _my _company. Good day, father!" Not allowing him the chance to reply, she ended the call. The three of them stood for a moment in that charged silence, and then Weiss deflated with an explosive, stressed sigh. "They need to make a Scroll that you can slam shut," she griped. "Poking the screen with a furious finger just doesn't have the same effect."

"So, telling off the ol' bastard?" Yang asked with a cheeky grin.

Weiss glanced at her, rolled her eyes, and gave a slight shake of her head, the slightest of smiles teasing the corners of her lips. But the grave reason why they were there ensured that any mirth was short lived. The smile died, and Weiss focused on Blake. "Report?"

"The area is secure. Hospital security staff has been augmented by SDC personnel, individuals that I personally called in. They are trustworthy, and can fight well. Vale has lent some of their police officers and a few of their mechs to watch over the hospital, but they are not likely to stay long. However, by the time that their shifts end, I'll be able to allocate more resources, as is necessary."

Weiss nodded imperiously. "Make it so." She turned once more to the window, looking out into the darkness. With a weary sigh, she rested her hands on the window sill, her shoulders slumping. "How is she?"

Yang joined Weiss at the window, one hand briefly clasping the fencer's shoulder before the pugilist turned and leaned her back against the wall next to the window. "The team in there is good…I don't think that the hospital would offer anything but their very best for Ruby. By the time we left…" She paused, eyes darkening with the weight of memory. "When we left, the amputation had been completed and they were working on her internal bleeding."

The weariness fled from Weiss's face, replaced with a dark, ugly anger. "We'll make those animals pay!" she hissed through clenched teeth. Blake stiffened at that, eyes narrowing. Weiss saw the subtle shift even in the translucent reflection in the window. "Oh, don't give me that look, Blake. I've long come to terms that the White Fang and most fauni want peace just as much as I do." She straightened, turned. "That's why I chose you as my head of security. That's why I started working to make Faunus Equal Works Rights. But those who've chosen to join the Crimson Claw _are_ animals, rabid beasts that are so enamored with their lust of death and terror and misery that they can't contemplate any other course." Then she relaxed, the weariness once again returning. "It's not just fauni who can become animals, but humans, too." She gave a tired gesture with her scroll before pocketing it.

"Yeah, speaking of the old coot, what was that all about?" Yang asked with an inquisitive tilt to her head, arms folded over her chest.

Weiss grimaced. "He heard that I was going to pay the family of the truck driver half again his salary until the wife reached retirement. The lawyers said that she could be a stay at home mother, now, if she so chose. He left behind his wife and three children. Like hell I'm going to let them worry about their future."

Blake tilted her head in recognition of Weiss's generosity. Her years in Beacon spent with Team RWBY and Team JNPR had done much to turn her from an ice queen into someone who truly cared about her employees and subordinates. Far from the self-absorbed and spoiled girl who had first strode into Beacon like she owned the place, Weiss was someone that Blake felt privileged to work for and someone whom she was proud and honored to call her friend. Inasmuch as no one truly deserved to be the target of terrorist attacks, Weiss was still leagues above her father, even at so young an age. How many other twenty-three year old women were CEOs of major corporations, and-

The double doors down the hall burst open, and Gambol Shroud practically appeared in her hands, her reaction time barely beating Yang's as she slipped into a boxer's stance, Ember Celica wrapping around her fists, or Weiss's as Myrtenaster hissed out of its sheath to point down the hall, Weiss's body poised to charge.

"Nora!"

The exasperated and achingly familiar voice had them all relaxing as Nora jogged towards them, Ren struggling to keep up. However, unlike usual, Nora's face wasn't filled with carefree joy, but was instead focused and somber. Before Weiss could react, Nora was on her, enveloping her in a hug. She held her for a few moments before pulling back and holding her by the shoulders. "We came as soon as we heard. Pyrrha and Jaune are on the way from Mistral, they should be here tomorrow morning. Do you guys need anything right now? I'm pretty certain that I could find some pancakes or something really quick…"

"Nora, I don't think they want pancakes right now," Ren gently chastised as he joined them. He nodded respectfully to Blake and then looked to Yang. "How is she?"

How indeed, Blake asked herself as Yang bit her lip, chewing it worriedly before answering. "It wasn't pretty…she's lost her right eye and arm…they had to amputate just above the elbow."

Silence followed that grim statement. Nora was the first to respond, hands covering her heart. "But…her _hunting_…what's she going to…?"

"I don't know!" Yang snapped, voice tight as her irises started to bleed a furious red again. Blake gently slipped her hand into Yang's, and with great effort, Yang calmed herself down, eyes returning to their lilac. "I don't know. We'll just have to wait and cross that bridge when it comes. For now, she just needs to heal. We're just waiting for her to come out of surgery."

"It shouldn't be too much longer," Weiss murmured. "She's already been in there for three hours."

Yang started at that. "That long? It didn't seem like it when I was in the observation room…"

And no wonder, Blake mused to herself as she gave a gentle squeeze to Yang's gloved hand. She was well acquainted with grief, and knew how it could make moments last an eternity, but could also whittle away hours like they were mere minutes. The amputation alone had taken an hour and forty-seven minutes.

"Yes, well, time pauses for no person," Weiss stated offhandedly. "They should be done soon. Meanwhile, we all have tasks that should be completed, or at least planned for." Blake stood taller at that, releasing Yang's hand and clasping her behind her back as she awaited instruction. No surprise that Weiss be the one to take charge now. "How long are you two in town?"

Nora shrugged. "As long as you need. What do you need from us?" It _was_ a bit unnerving to see the normally bubbly and almost spastic young woman so somber and focused, Blake thought with a shiver as she took in the diamond hard glint to Nora's eyes.

"Right now, do you think you can stay here and act as a boost to security until Pyrrha and Jaune arrive? They're more suited to defense, whereas your skillsets are a bit more…aggressive."

And now that diamond hard glint turned cruel and almost psychotic. This was the same person who had offered to break Cardin's legs, all those years ago, Blake reminded herself. "Oh, the Crimson Claw will soooo regret pissing you off, Ice Queen," Nora practically crowed as she patted Magnhild lovingly, a predatory grin spread across her face.

Weiss smirked at that. "I don't doubt that." The grin disappeared. "Yang, for right now, I want you to start using your contacts from your bar, anything you have with Junior, whatever. They probably don't know anything, but they might know someone who knows someone who does. Find them and ask them the questions that need asking. We will find the Crimson Claw who made this happen, and we _will_ make them pay.

"Blake, do the same with your White Fang contacts. I know that they won't be keen on giving information that will result in attacks on fauni, but the Claw is now threatening the peace that we have so painstakingly built. We must not let them get away with it."

Anger flaring up, Blake held her tongue for a few moments, instead staring at Weiss with cold eyes. Did she really know what she was asking for? Yet Weiss never faltered, no flickers of doubt ran behind her determined expression. Fine, then. "I'll start that tonight, Miss Schnee," she dutifully replied, voice frosty, only betraying a fraction of the anger roared through her. Yes, the Crimson Claw was dangerous. Yes, they needed to be addressed appropriately. She knew that…but asking the White Fang for information that would result in even more bloodshed…

Evidently her formal words struck a chord with Weiss, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh, don't give me that, Blake!" Weiss snapped. "'Miss Schnee, I don't like what you said so I'll act like it's only because you're my boss that I'll do what you say!'" she simpered mockingly. "It's too late in the game to play that card! Ruby, the girl I…my best friend is lying in surgery, with her bloody _arm_ cut off! I know that you have no great love for humanity and its mistakes, but I thought Ruby was your friend, too!"

Blake frowned, only more in concentration at the strange slip of Weiss's than in anger at her words. She wasn't the only one who noticed. Ren grimaced and fished something out of his pocket before handing it to Nora. Conveniently behind Weiss's back, Nora held up the twenty dollar bill, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at Yang and Blake. Ah. _That_. Mmm, something to think about later. Anger drained by the truth in Weiss's words, Blake formed her words very carefully before responding. "Weiss, Ruby _is_ my friend, one of the few that I actually have. And what happened to her…nothing has ever made me angrier. Ever. Not the insults and slurs and abuse that I received from your kind, not White Fang's descent into violence and alliance with that bastard Torchwick and that bitch Cinder…nothing comes even close. But what you are asking might be too much. Whatever rapport that I have with the current leadership of the White Fang might be lost if I ask for the location of those that attacked us. Even if they don't know, the fact of the matter will be that I, a faunus, will be asking others of my kind to betray our brethren so that a human may get revenge on an attack on another human."

Weiss flushed angrily, but Blake held up her hand. It was truly a mark of their friendship and trust in each other that Weiss held her tongue, allowing Blake to continue. "Yes, White Fang knows that Ruby is truly a hero, willing to help anyone in need. Hell, she's even helped them when they needed it, and they'll remember that. But her deeds of kindness can't erase decades of bigotry and hate. The peace between humanity and the White Fang is exactly as you described, tentative, and the leadership might not view this logically, instead letting their memories and passions get the better of them." Blake shrugged helplessly. "I can do as you ask, but I fear that it might do more harm than good."

Weiss sighed explosively, leaning back against the wall, arms crossed, face thoughtful as she worried her lip. Finally, she nodded. "Right, then. Don't ask them for any information. Instead, try to set up a meeting between me and the senior leaders of the White Fang. I don't expect it to be in person, as I know that will not happen…not yet, at least. I feel that it is time that I stop relaying my messages through you. After all that we've accomplished, I think that the least that they can do is begin talking directly to me. And that way, any request for information can come directly from the source."

Yang nodded. "Makes sense, and it would be good to set up direct communication. But seriously, what makes you think that they'll give you, a human, information that they wouldn't give Blake?"

Weiss smirked at that. "I'm a master negotiator, remember? I convinced my father to step down from his position as CEO…if I can do that, I think I can manage this."

Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. However, the Ice Queen did have a valid point. "Alright, I'll try my best to set up a teleconference. Anything else?"

"Coordinate with hospital staff, particularly security. It would be a great victory for the Crimson Claw if they managed to finish the job and kill Ruby. We'll see how long Pyrrha and Jaune can stay and help, but start planning in detail. I know I already told you to do all this, but I want to make it crystal clear. I want a detailed report for security measure to be taken by the hospital and by the company for the expected duration of Ruby's recuperation. I don't need names yet, but personnel numbers, equipment needed, anything the hospital might need to augment its forces, how much this is expected to cost, everything you can think of."

Blake patted the pocket that held her scroll reassuringly. "I'll have it to you by tomorrow evening." Weiss smirked, the grin tinged with fatigue, her eyelids drooping slightly, and Blake felt a pang of concern. Some head of security she was…Weiss was strong, but Ruby hadn't been the only one to get hurt today. She glanced at the bandage just under Weiss's left eye. An inch higher, and combat skirts wouldn't be the only thing that Ruby and Weiss would be sharing in common. "Come on, let's get you back in the waiting room and at least sitting down. You need your rest."

Weiss nodded as she closed her eyes, fingers pressing lightly against her temple. "You might be right. But what about you two?"

Yang shrugged fluidly. "Eh, I'm fine. I think I've had tougher days and nights running the bar."

Weiss rolled her eyes as the five of them went into the waiting room. "Of course you would say that. And I suppose it was a silly question. Blake?"

"I'm unaffected, and I need to work on the report. You relax, the four of us will keep watch. Try and get some sleep."

Weiss sank into one of the plush seats, groaning with relief. How much of her composure and poise had come from determination alone? She settled deeper into the seat, eyes drifting shut. "Even a five minute nap would be welcome. Wake me if we get any news?"

Blake laid a gentle hand on Weiss's shoulder. "If anyone in that room so much as sneezes, you'll be sure to find out. But we'll leave you be unless it's big news, okay?"

"Mmm, just what I expected from my personal ninja," Weiss breathed softly before her face relaxed, a soft, unladylike snore sounding within moments.

Personal ninja, huh? Blake snorted softly to herself as she pulled out her scroll and began the work given to her. Worked for her. Fit what she did almost perfectly. Watch from the shadows, ever vigilant and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Ruby's shattered body flashed in her mind's eye, and her hand tightened on her scroll. And when that perfect moment came, the Crimson Claw _was_ going to pay for their crimes…and the price of their heinous acts was going to be steep indeed!


	3. The Burden Carried

**AN: My word, this took forever to write! I suppose that's to be expected, though, I actually got commissioned to write for pay. And while I enjoy this story, I don't get any money for this, haha. So that's that. It's also been pretty busy here, and I expect it to get even more so in the following weeks. We've got several large projects due, and two field exercises, as well as our culminating exercise. I will try to write when I can, but make no promises.**

**I tried to make this one a little longer, and it has 4,052 words of content, so hopefully y'all enjoy. Please read, enjoy, and review!**

The Burden Carried

Weiss groaned softly, trying to turn into the material of her bed, that didn't quite feel soft enough, eager for even five more minutes of sleep. Yesterday must have been full of meetings for her to feel this bone tired, even after-

Her eyes snapped open, to be greeted not by the sight of her bed, but instead of a beige sofa. No, not in her room. And while yesterday had been consumed largely by meetings, that wasn't what made her feel this exhausted. She closed her eyes, shuddering at the flashing memory of concussive shock, a flare of hellish light, and the acrid smell of things not meant to burn set aflame. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head, and forced her eyes open. There was no sense hiding from the day. A low murmur of voices in the corner of the waiting room caught her attention, and she looked over to see Blake talking to the hospital's chief of security, Yang standing supportively by her side. Something fluttered in her chest as she remembered Ruby doing the same thing for her, more times than she could count.

…She had always been able to count on Ruby, hadn't she? And now, Ruby was lying somewhere in this hospital, and it was her fault. If she wasn't Weiss Schnee, than perhaps this would never have happened. Perhaps Ruby would be able to walk in that door, both arms waving excitedly about one thing or another. Her chest twinged again, but she shook it off, standing as gracefully as she could, despite her body screaming in protest. It was the least she could do for Ruby.

"Weiss." Blake was coming towards her, face blank, though Weiss could catch that glimmer of concern in her friend's golden eyes.

"I'm fine, what's the situation?" she asked as she made a brushing motion with her hand. If only she could brush away this entire situation as easily…

"Time is currently oh-seven-forty-three, Ruby came out of surgery three hours ago, almost to the minute. Her vitals are currently stable, and she's in the ICU. Mister Lyall has some of his best guards on the floor, and currently Nora and Ren are standing guard right at the door to her room. Ruby hasn't woken up yet."

Weiss nodded. "And I wasn't awoken when the surgery was over because…?" she asked leadingly, trailing off while letting an annoyed look flick across her face, a mask to hide the worry that surged through her chest.

Yang was the one who answered her, her shoulder rising and falling in a fluid shrug. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Weiss, we figured you could use a little more sleep. The doc said that everything was normal."

Weiss grimaced disapprovingly at that. "I still should have been woken up!" she insisted.

"Weiss, really, think about it. You needed the rest more than you needed to know. Heck, it was only just recently that your Aura finally recharged all the way," Yang chided with an annoyed frown. "And if you're going to get pissed at anyone, get pissed at me. Blake wanted to wake you up, but I stopped her."

Weiss sighed wearily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, fine. The past is past, there's nothing we can do to change it. Anything else, Blake?"

"I took the liberty of phoning the company. They know that if you do come in today, it won't be until noon, at the least. The board is going to hold things down until you go back in. Clean up and repair is already underway on the front entrance and drive. The hospital would also like to give you a quick examination, now that Ruby is safe and stable. They aren't expecting anything too severe, of course, or else they would have forced you into the ER, but they want to do some basic tests just to be positive." Weiss opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. The look that Blake gave her was cold, hard, and uncompromising.

"Fine, where is it?"

Blake's smirk was nothing if not victorious.

And so Weiss found herself in an examination room fifteen minutes later. "Wouldn't even let me get my tea," she grumbled to herself as she idly glanced at her nails. Great. They looked like the nails of a laborer. Maybe after she made sure that Ruby really was okay, she could arrange an appointment with her salon. She felt her lip curl back in disgust at that. Ruby was still unconscious, and here she was, worried about her damned nails. But that was the despicable part of it, she _had_ to be conscious of her appearance, all the way down to the tiniest scuff on her nails, the smallest stray hair. The Crimson Claw committed an act of terrorism, and she had to present a strong, unruffled front to the vermin. They would be searching for the smallest sign of weakness, and she couldn't afford showing any to them. Such was the price of being the head of the company, the face that everyone looked to in times of chaos. Everyone carried their own burdens, this one was hers.

The door swung open, and she looked up as a doctor walked into the room, peering down at her chart, likely looking over the vitals that had been recorded by a nurse right after she had been brought to the room. "Miss Schnee?" he asked, glancing up at her with eyes that were warmly sympathetic and also worn down and tired. His were the eyes of an emergency department doctor, who had likely seen a great deal of pain and death in his time.

"Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Petersen, and I'll be conducting that physical examination so that we can get you clear, alright? But first, can you tell me your full name and date of birth?" Mindlessly, she rattled off the info, and he smiled his thanks. "Good, memory is good, response was fast and accurate, and your speech is clear. Are you feeling any sort of headache?"

"No. I did at first, and I think I suffered a pretty bad concussion when the truck…when _it_ happened, but I think my Aura healed that up pretty quickly. Now I just feel really tired, and there's like…I don't know, almost the memory of pain, right behind my eyes, as though if I try to remember it or move my eyes too quickly, it'll be back. But for an actual headache, no, I don't have one."

"That's good news. Are you feeling pain anywhere else?"

She glanced at her hands, remembering the feeling of blistering hot asphalt searing her scraped palms, but now the skin was as smooth as ever, no sign of the minor injuries that they had withstood. "No."

"Not even under your eye?"

Her hand came up, on its own accord, touching the bandage that had been placed there while en route to the hospital. She had grown so used to the thing that she no longer took note of its presence, and the wound that lay underneath didn't hurt unless…she hissed slightly, pulling her finger away. Unless it was directly touched. "A little, if you touch it."

"The benefits of being a Huntress, I suppose," he mused. "Mind if I take the bandage off?"

"No, please, by all means."

She tried not to wince at the feeling of the adhesive pulling at her skin, nor at the way the bandage's dressing pulled at the wound itself. But there wasn't much resistance, and the doctor didn't have to soak the bandage in saline, as was sometimes necessary for when the dressing became saturated with blood and became stuck to the wound. But to her surprise, his face was not happy when he finally removed the bandage. "What's wrong?"

"Well, the wound is pretty much closed, I don't see any signs of fresh bleeding. It looks like it's completely scabbed over and well on the way to creating new skin. However…if we had gotten to this sooner, we'd have been able to stitch it. Now…it's going to scar pretty badly."

She flinched at that. "Is there any way…?"

He shook his head. "Not really. We'd have to make another incision directly over the wound in order to reopen it, and then give you the stitches."

She swallowed heavily at his words. "How bad is it?" The cut hadn't felt that big, and it hadn't hurt as much after the first few hours. By the time her father had called her, she had forgotten about it, she was so wrapped up in everything else. Wordlessly, Doctor Petersen gestured towards the attached bathroom, and Weiss approached it cautiously, almost dreading what she would find in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in, hand finding the light switch. Closing her eyes, she flicked the light on. _Okay, Weiss, on the count of three, open your eyes. One…two…three_!

Her eyes snapped open, taking in the young woman in the mirror. Bags under her eyes, her frazzled, and slightly stooped shoulders showing the fatigue that she felt. But the greatest change lay under her left eye, a rusty red horizontal line that bisected her old scar almost perfectly. She stared at it for a long moment, before sighing heavily and bracing herself on the sink with slightly shaking hands as her eyes wearily slid shut. It wasn't good…but wasn't as bad as she had feared.

"Miss Schnee?" Doctor Petersen asked from the examination room, voice carefully gentle.

Her eyes snapped open at his words, face determined. "I count myself lucky that this mark is all that I will have to bear as a result of that attack, and let it remain so that I will always be reminded of the price of complacency."

"Miss?"

She turned around, facing the doctor, standing tall and proud. "It stays, Doctor. What kind of person would I be to be concerned with such a scar, when Ruby lost so much more? I thank you for your service. Will that be all?"

The look he shot her was unreadable, and he held her in his gaze for an uncomfortable moment before finally nodding. "I feel confident that you are none the worse for wear. However, if you get any sudden increase in pain, or start to feel lightheaded or dizzy, seek immediate medical aid. No more stubbornness, Miss Schnee. If you had visited the ER right after the attack, like you had been asked to, your scar would be much less noticeable."

She nodded gracefully, acknowledging the truth behind his words. "If I start to feel worse, I will come in. Thank you for your time, Doctor. I really appreciate your service."

"And I yours, Miss Schnee," he returned, and upon noticing her confused face, he went on to elaborate. "The Schnee Dust Company is well on its way to being the leading company that gives the hospital grants. That started after you became CEO."

Ah, that's right, she remembered as she excused herself and began to make her way to the ICU waiting room. Upon finding out exactly how much the CEO position was actually paid, she had nearly had a conniption. What was distressing was that this wasn't just a failing of her father's, but could be seen in most major companies. What use did she have for that much money? After calculating how much she needed to maintain the Schnee estate and adding a little on the side for the occasional girl's day out or extravagant purchase, she had still had millions left over. Part of that went to giving a collective pay raise across the board, making her employees some of the better paid workers in the world. The rest went to charities and as grants to organizations like schools and hospitals within Vale. The media had gone absolutely ballistic, and her rival business owners had ridiculed her, calling her a little girl who had no idea how to run a business. Fools. She hadn't touched public stock to do any of it. It had all come out of her own paycheck, so the stockholders actually benefited, in the end. She still had enough money in other stocks and in savings that she could live like royalty for the rest of her life, if she so wished.

But really, it was father's reaction that had hurt the most. That had been the angriest she had ever seen him, as he bellowed that she wasn't worthy of the family name, that he wished Winter had been born first. Feh! Bastard only wanted that because Winter would have been easier to control. He was just mad that she was improving the Company in ways that he had never even dreamed, with that black, greedy heart of his. Productivity went up, employees stayed with the Company longer, reducing the amount of time needed to train new employees, and she was being lauded as the leading vision in industry.

_That_ had made the pain of her father's rage disappear, that look of quiet pride and approval in Blake's face when she revealed her plan to her. And Ruby…she didn't think she had ever been hugged that hard by her team leader before. Yang had thrown her a party in her bar, and the hangover the next morning was astounding, but totally worth it. That had been the first time that she had done something outside of her job as a Huntress that she felt truly proud of, the first 'right' action that she made as a CEO. And the fact that she used the resounding success of her decision to begin talks with the less militant leaders of White Fang to begin a Faunus Worker's Rights program a month later was merely icing on the cake. Rather than dreading working for the SDC, Fauni workers began to flock in, eager to work for one of the few companies that aggressively instituted anti-discriminatory practices and offered equal hours and pay between human and Faunus workers.

She had so much that she could be proud of, and so many people looked up to her as one of the more forward thinking CEOs of any company. And yet there were still bastards like the Crimson Claw out there, who dared to hurt her and her friends! She paused there, standing in the hallway leading to the ICU, and she took a deep breath; unclenched her hands. No need to get angry now, when there was no point to it. She was in control…she'd save the anger for when she could put it into action.

"Miss Schnee?"

…And here comes the anger again. Well, less anger and more exasperated frustration, she reminded herself as she turned to face the speaker, lips thinning in distaste. "Mister Arc."

Jaune, looking sheepish and as clueless as ever, even if he was well on to the way of manhood. But she still remembered how he hadn't taken a damn clue, and had kept asking, no matter how many times she had said no. How Pyrrha stood him, she'd never know. But now, at least, he was well aware of what he had done wrong, and Dust help him if he tried to do anything stupid.

That had been an unpleasant afternoon, when she had finally just been so sick and tired of it all. And not just against Jaune, but her friends, too. The look of hurt on Ruby's face when Weiss had lashed out would never be forgotten, but she had been so tired of the harassment from Jaune and feeling like she couldn't even depend on those who were supposed to have her back. Thankfully Ruby, Yang, and Blake had apologized first once they realized just how bothered Weiss was, and she had explained to them precisely why she was so mad. The four of them had tracked Jaune down, and explained to him, in very simple terms, what he was doing and why it was wrong. The look of horror on his face when he finally, _finally_ realized that he was little better than the sleaze-ball scumbag predator at the bars who sexually harassed women. Since then, their relationship had been frosty. He'd never be quite forgiven, so far as she was concerned.

Well…he was an ally, a comrade-in-arms…some bonds forged at Beacon could only be undone by the most heinous of actions. But he would never be her friend. "I would like to thank you for coming out to help…I know that it's quite a long trip."

He relaxed marginally. "There's no way that we wouldn't come…unless it wasn't safe for Pyrrha." Wasn't safe for Pyrrha…what did _that_ mean? "Ruby was the first person he became my friend at Beacon…without her, I don't know if I would have stayed, or did as well."

"Well, her and Pyrrha."

He gave a small grin. "Ruby convinced me that coming wasn't such a bad idea. Everything else goes to Pyrrha."

Almost as though summoned by her name, Pyrrha came around the corner, as graceful and regal as ever…not to mention very much pregnant! "Jaune, has Weiss come back from…oh! Weiss, how wonderful it is to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances." Her smile was more dazzling than usual, and Weiss got the feeling that this was what people meant when they said pregnant women glowed.

"Pyrrha! I'm glad you could make it!" They embraced, Weiss careful not to press against Pyrrha's protruding belly. "And you brought a surprise!" Was she sounding a bit manic? She might be sounding a bit manic.

"Yes, I know, and I'm sorry for not telling anyone earlier, but we wanted to keep it a secret."

Weiss blinked at that, confused for a moment. But then she realized it. Just as she was a target because of her last name, so too were Jaune and Pyrrha both. And the fact that they were having a child would catch the attention of many a ne'er-do-well. "Oh, of course. But…what about the baby? Is it safe for you here, if the Crimson Claw comes to attack?"

Pyrrha's grin was positively serene. "I'm not so far along that I can't fight, and with my Semblance and Jaune's protectiveness, I very much doubt that anyone could get close enough to even touch me, let alone do me harm."

"So, it's a healthy pregnancy?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is." It was Jaune who answered her, as he walked up next to Pyrrha, draping a protective arm over her shoulder. "I may have screwed up a LOT of things in the past, and I know I make mistakes all the time…but I refuse to fail as a father. If Pyrrha couldn't have made the trip safely, we wouldn't have come. I'm sorry, but there are some things that I simply can't risk."

…When had Jaune grown up so much? Yes, she could still see the bumbling teenager who had infuriated her to no end while at Beacon, but she could see a determined strength within him, from the set of his broad shoulders to the steely glint in his eyes. For a brief moment, she felt a flicker of regret. Like she said earlier, the past was past, and couldn't be changed, but if Jaune hadn't been so pigheadedly stubborn in his pursuit of her, they could have been friends. Ah, well. No use dwelling on it. Jaune was still valuable as an ally in Ruby's protection.

"I can respect that. Now, what I'd like for you to do is for you to guard Ruby until we can clarify that she isn't under threat of another attack, or until she's recovered enough that she is no longer as vulnerable."

"Do we have a time frame?"

"No. She still hasn't woken up, and I haven't spoken with any of the doctors yet. It's still too early to know anything, but I don't think it'll take longer than a month for her to be placed on the medical floor."

Jaune nodded. "We can only hope. Alright, I'll have my team augment yours. Nora and Ren can assist Yang while she tries to find those that did this. Pyrrha and I can stay here, helping out the hospital security. Have you thought about contacting Beacon for help? I'm sure that Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch would be more than happy to lend some of the more experienced student teams to help."

She stared at him, wordless for a moment. No, she hadn't thought of that. She had been thinking too much on what resources her company had to offer, and what Vale and the hospital had available, and hadn't thought of asking for help from Beacon. Stupid! How could she look over something that simple?! "That's a good idea, thanks. Do you mind making that call? I'm going to be busy hunting down my own leads, and running the company."

"Yeah, we've got that covered. Yang is waiting inside, and Blake disappeared like she does, saying something about talking with the head of security about cost figures."

"Right, thanks."

"Well, now that that's been settled, we're going to go get some food, the stuff they offered on the plane was atrocious, and while the doctor cleared Pyrrha for flight, I do _not_ trust that stuff!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I don't think anyone does." The two of them turned, began to walk away, hands finding each other, and Weiss felt a pang of…regret? As she glanced at their joined hands and noticed how Jaune's thumb rubbed comfortingly over Pyrrha's she found herself thinking of Ruby's hands…no, _hand_, now. So often with grime under the unevenly trimmed fingernails, palm rough with calluses from wielding her heavy scythe. Her heart gave another pang, and she yearned to go hold Ruby's hand now, and damn her responsibilities.

But she was in charge of Schnee Dust Company, and she had obligations to fulfill. And that was what made a leader. Put your own comforts aside, and focus on leading those under you. It would be so easy to do what she wanted, to shirk her duties, but then her father would have an excuse to try and retake the reins of power, and undo all of her hard work, and that was unacceptable. No, this was her burden that she carried, and it was one that she willingly took. She had to do what was right, not what she wanted. Ruby would understand. _Don't worry, Ruby, I'm going to be there as soon as I can, but I have things I need to do._

Her scroll in her hand, thumb already dialing the number to the Board, her walk was brisk and determined as she made her way down that short distance to the waiting room. The scroll was by her ear, and she was already talking, making decisions as she entered the room, eyes glancing longingly at the couches and chairs in the room. How she wanted to get a little more rest, how she wanted to see Ruby…but no. "Yes, send a messenger with my laptop. I need something more than my scroll to be effective. What's the status on the company? No, I don't bloody care. I've already made my decision regarding the events surrounding the event. I want the rest of the company proceeding as normal, but beef up security at our more vulnerable facilities. Yes. The news wants to talk to a representative?" She glanced at her watch. "Have them send someone to the hospital at two o'clock, I'll see about getting a conference room available. Until then, give them the usual fluff…I don't want your reassurances, Rich, I want results!"

It was a burden, yes, but one that she was prepared to carry, one that she had trained for years to bear. And, honestly? She didn't trust anyone else to carry this weight. She glanced at Yang, who was snoring lightly on one of the couches, and thought of Blake, no doubt tightening security even as she spoke, and she glanced out the door, thinking of Ruby, hooked up to who knew how many machines. Yes, this was her burden…but her friends made it easier to carry. _Don't worry, Ruby, I'll be there soon_. And some friends made the burden lighter than anyone else…


	4. The Hunting Dragon

**AN: Wow, yeah, this took bloody forever. However, the good news is, I'm going into my last week of heavy duty Army training. After that, I'll be home, and more able to write without worrying about various projects and inspections and what have you. So, yeah, sorry this took so long, and thank you for being so patient!**

**This chapter does have nudity and bodily functions in it, and starts going into the psychology of being on the ICU. You'll see what I mean. Hopefully you all enjoy! 4,210 words without the Author's Note, so it's another long one. Read, enjoy, and please review!**

The Hunting Dragon

Yang was in a bad mood. Hands jammed in her pockets, she barely remembered nodding to the hospital's receptionists as she made her way to the ICU. _Stupid freakin' underground contacts, couldn't find their way out of a wet paperbag!_ How hard was it, really, to find any info about the Crimson Claw? They had to have a base of operations in Vale to do something like the bombing! It had been too large of an attack, too organized, so why couldn't her contacts find anything?!

_Maybe after I visit Ruby, I'll go beat some information out of Junior_, she grumbled to herself as she got on the elevator. _Even if he doesn't know anything, it'll relieve some bloody stress._ The elevator dinged cheerfully as the doors closed, and she resisted the urge to punch the control panel. Stupid thing shouldn't be so freakin' happy. She knew academically (ha, see, Weiss? I _do_ know big words!) that her anger and frustration were caused by inaction, and that went against her very nature. She wanted nothing more than to go out there and make the bastards who hurt her sister pay for what they did, but there was no target for her to attack, no way for her to vent her frustration.

The elevator dinged again, and the doors slid open. Huffing angrily to herself, Yang stepped off onto the fourth floor, not even paying attention as she made the necessary turns through the corridors to reach the ICU.

"Oh, hey, Miss Xiao Long!"

She stumbled, startled at the sudden voice. She looked up, taking in the two Beacon students standing guard at the doors leading into the ICU. She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes at the looks of poorly disguised heroic worship in their eyes. Save Beacon and Vale, and what does it get you? Fans. "Hey, guys!" she replied, heavy with the false cheer. "How are things going?"

"Eh, pretty boring, really," the stocky, muscular male replied with a shrug. "Kinda wish that something would happen, just to give us something to-oof!"

His female classmate, a willowy girl with dark brown hair and a tanned complexion, elbowed him in the side with a worried glance at Yang. "I'm sorry, he doesn't mean anything by that…Xavier just isn't the smartest guy, and he sometimes has issues with waiting. And with social grace!" The last sentence was hissed warningly at the boy, who had opened his mouth, an annoyed look on his face.

Yang just sighed heavily, hand going to her brow. "Guys, chill out…it's okay. I hate waiting, too. Heck, I wish that the Crimson Claw would be stupid enough to attack the hospital, might give us a trail to follow." An awkward silence followed her words, and she shifted from one foot to the other. "So, uh…I'm going to go see my sister now." The way that they scrambled to get out of her way might have been comical, in other circumstances. But instead of laughing, she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. However, as she was about to pass the threshold into the ICU, she shot the two of them a glance. "Listen, they probably aren't going to attack. You guys can stay in the breakroom, do some homework or something. You'll be close enough to react if something does happen, but there's no reason for you to be uncomfortable, just standing at these doors for hours, okay?" They nodded, and she grinned crookedly. "Don't forget to let all the other teams know, alright?"

Once more they nodded eagerly, and she shook her head to herself as she fully entered the ICU, doors swishing shut behind her. To have such youthful optimism and energy once more…yeah, she was still in her twenties and pretty darn young herself, but she had already seen things, experienced things that made her feel old and even jaded. The smile fled from her lips, all mirth gone from her mind as she walked down the corridor, hands once more jammed into her pockets, careful to not look around her.

She hated it here.

It wasn't one thing in particular. The staff members were nice and efficient and they obviously cared for their charges, so it wasn't them. The floor was kept immaculately clean at all times, and the lighting was excellent, with no sense of darkness or impending doom about this place. But all the friendly people and the best kept floors didn't change what this place was.

People died here.

Yes, many of the patients recovered, but some of them didn't. She glanced into a room at the sound of deep, painful coughing, looked away again, hunching down into herself. How could the staff handle it? The old woman with that terrible, deep, wet cough…she looked like a living skeleton, with sunken eyes that peered lifelessly into the hall. Yang shuddered, her step quickening.

"Miss Xiao Long, how are you today?"

Cerul, at the Nurse's Station, giving her a kind smile.

"Eh, could be better, I suppose," Yang replied, glancing back at room twelve. "She's…she's not getting better, is she?"

Cerul glanced at the room, smile leaving her face. "I'm sorry, but I can't discuss patient information with anyone either than family or someone who has been cleared by the patient." The words were gentle, and well used, probably repeated so many times that Cerul didn't have to think about them. But the eyes didn't lie, that look of tired defeat, of a sadness that went soul deep.

This was a place of pain, not only for patients, but also for those that worked here, Yang reminded herself as she walked away, empty condolences given to the young secretary at the desk. What did her pitiful 'sorry' do to alleviate the situation? It wouldn't make the old lady better, wouldn't take the pain away from Cerul. Her words did nothing, and were contemptible for that.

She wished Weiss was here, even if only to mockingly congratulate her for using the word contemptible. Her biting wit would be appreciated, make a distraction. She passed the nurses, some intent on their work as they stood at the mobile computer stations that kept track of patients and their treatments, others giving her a nod or friendly smile. They knew her face and name by now, more than a week after Ruby had been brought here. She returned the gestures, now painfully aware of the exhaustion noticeable in some of their faces and forms, of the tired sadness in the others.

It was different here, harder than the ER, in some ways, she realized. In the ER, the patients came in and left quickly, rarely staying more than eight hours, according to the statistics she had noticed on a poster the other day. But here in the ICU and on the medical floors elsewhere in the hospital, patients could stay for weeks, even months, slowly withering away until death finally came for them. The workers here…they really got to know their patients, were there to witness their fear and pain as their final hours drew to a close, or to see their joy and victories as their bodies mended themselves. Ruby would be the latter!

Speaking of…Yang frowned at the drawn curtain that covered the entrance to Ruby's room, puzzled at it. She mentally ran over the schedule of tests and doctor visits that had been given to her yesterday by Cerul, and there shouldn't be anything going on right now. Stepping forward, she gently tugged the edge of the curtain to the side, revealing-

"The _fuck_ are you _doing_?!"

The young man bent over the side of the bed, and more importantly her younger sister's _naked body_, jerked back as though scalded, washcloth in one hand. Ruby's body slumped from where it was laying on its side, the complicated tube system that went down her throat disconnecting with a hiss, and immediately after, an alarm began to go off. Shooting her an annoyed glance, the man moved quickly, slipping around the bed so that he could get to the respiratory tubes more quickly, reattaching them.

The curtain jerked to the side, one of the nurses stepping in. "Everything okay, Michael?" he asked, a curious glance taking in Yang.

"Yeah, sorry, Rod, Miss Xiao Long startled me while I was cleaning Miss Rose, and I let go of her. Her vent disconnected, is all."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

Rodney, that was his name! He glanced at the ventilator's control panel and at Ruby's heart monitor screen, and, apparently pleased, nodded. "Once you're done in here, I need you in room four. She needs to be wiped, and is rather insistent about it."

Michael sighed heavily at that. "Of course she is. Right, I'll be there in a few."

"Thanks."

The curtain closed again, leaving only the three of them in the room. Michael shot her an unamused glance as he made his way back around the bed. "As I already told Miss Rose, I'm washing her up. If you want to help, that would be much appreciated."

Yang crossed her arms over her chest. "You were touching my sister's butt. And you want my help?"

Michael shrugged. "Whether you help or not doesn't really matter, miss. I'll still get my job done, it'll just take longer. My name is Michael, I'm the Nursing Assistant on until 10:30 tonight."

"Isn't there a female that can do this job?" she huffed at him.

The look he gave her was dry as the desert. "Unfortunately, no. I'm the only assistant on right now, Cerul has to stay at that desk, and the female nurses are all busy taking care of their patients," he explained as he gently, carefully rolled Ruby back onto her side. "See? Miss Rose had a bowel movement, and I need to clean her up to prevent skin irritation and possible infection." Picking up the washcloth again, he began to wipe, motion gentle but firm. "Miss Rose, I'm cleaning you up right now, I should be done in a few minutes, okay?" he said, pitching his voice a little louder.

Yang stepped forward at that, hands going out to support Ruby. "Why are you talking to her? The Doctor said he was going to keep her on a medical coma until the end of the week, to help with the healing process."

With a well-practiced scoop, flip, and fold, he removed a particularly large piece of…that…from Ruby's crack, dropping the soiled washcloth over the brown stain on the pad that lay between her body and the sheets. "Well, yes, we want to reduce the chance of her agitating the wounds by moving too much, but we always talk to our patients. We don't know when they can or can't hear us. Better for us to always explain what we're doing, right?" His gloved hands went to a wash basin filled with soapy water and other washcloths. He wrung out another washcloth, and finished the cleaning, explaining the entire process to her comatose sister. "Do you have her?" he asked. "I've got to switch out her pads."

She nodded, and watched as he quickly rolled up the soiled pad, producing another one that he partially unrolled, tucking the rest under the soiled pad. "Okay, now I want you to very, very carefully move her wounded arm so that it won't be pinned under her body, okay?" She nodded, did so, and with confident hands, he removed the soiled pad and unrolled the rest of its replacement, smoothing out any wrinkles. "You can let her down now, thanks." The gloves came off, and were tossed in a garbage as he emptied the basin in the sink.

He was silent as he did a fast inspection, checking the many bandaged areas, the almost countless IV sites, the catheter and the half full bag of urine that it was attached to, and her ventilator before nodding, satisfied. Tossing the soiled clothes into the dirty linens basket, he produced a hospital gown that he proceeded to put on Ruby. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked her, warm brown eyes dancing with mirth. "Your sister is clean, dressed, and none of her wounds opened, and now I get to go wipe the derrier of a four hundred fifty pound woman because she literally cannot reach down there to clean herself." He shrugged, a carefree smile on his face. "Gotta love it. Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and if you need anything, food, water, a more comfortable chair or blankets, just stick your head out the door and call for me, okay? Thanks!"

The curtain was pulled open, and he whisked off down the hall, a bounce in his step. Yang watched him go, and she scratched her golden locks, puzzled. "The hell just happened?" she asked herself quietly. What a character, she mused to herself as she sat down in the chair next to Ruby's bed, settling in for the long vigil. If she was forced to wait, she could think of no better place to be. "Hey, Ruby, how are you doing? Yeah, I think your new assistant is a bit cracked." She pulled out her headphones, sticking one of the buds into her ear. "Still, he seems like a nice enough guy, though I'm not too happy that he's seen you naked." She paused as she loaded the playlist up on her scroll. Music blaring happily in her ear, she leaned back in the chair, sighing contentedly. "But, as long as he doesn't do anything improper, I suppose I can't complain too much." She glanced over at Ruby's still body, wishing more than ever for an over-energetic response. "I miss you, Ruby," she whispered, hand tightening around her scroll. "Come back to us, please." Nothing but silence answered her heartfelt plea.

Her scroll vibrated in her hand, and Yang jerked awake, wincing as she straightened, neck protesting. Huh. So she had dozed off. Wincing, she rolled her shoulders and tilted her head just _so_, groaning in relief as her neck popped several times, relieving the pressure that had built up while sleeping with her neck crooked. The orange light filtering in through the blinds told her that it was early evening now, and she blinked the grittiness out of her eyes as she smacked her lips, that sour taste that seemed only to come from naps heavy in her mouth. Then she glanced at the message, saw it was from Junior. Frowning, she opened it…

And froze.

Her teeth flashed in the dimming light as a predatory grin stretched her lips wide, eyes crinkling with the savage joy of reading the short message.

Anticipation thrummed.

She had a target.

She shivered as she hit the speed dial for Ren's scroll, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Hey, Ren? Yeah, we have a lead. It's shaky, but better than nothing. You know where my bar is? Good. You and Nora meet me there in forty-five minutes. Alright, see you then." She ended the call, glanced at Ruby. "Sorry, sis, but I've got to go. Just got a heads up on a possible lead. It would be terrible if we didn't get the chance to meet and get to know one another." She lay a gentle hand on Ruby's forehead. "Don't worry, we'll make it right again. This is just the first step. I'll be back tomorrow, I promise."

The curtain swished open and closed, and silence reined once more in the room, broken only by the sounds of the many machines connected to the young woman lying comatose in bed.

Vern hurried down the street, nervousness goading his frantic pace. He needed to get out of this damn business! Sure, he'd been saying that for years, but when he started working as a messenger and errand boy for the White Fang, it was never this bad. Even when Adam, psychopath that he had been, was in charge it had never been like this. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to see any patterns that didn't fit, trying to see anyone matching his pace or looking at him too intently.

Nothing.

But his instincts were all screaming that he was being hunted.

_It all freakin' started when I had to go see Junior. If that scumbag sold me out…well, I won't do anything, but the Crimson Claw might._

The Crimson Claw. He shuddered, taking an abrupt left down an alley. Ruthless monsters, the lot of them, and that was saying something, coming from him. He used to believe the propaganda, way back when he was a scared little boy, afraid of merely being Faunus. The horror stories were constant. Humans hated people like him, forced him to work in dark mines until he wasted away, his tortured ghost remaining deep underground for all eternity. He had gone to the protests, and wasn't even the youngest present at them. He had seen the hate in the faces of the humans. He had borne the burdens of his kind, and had rejoiced when the White Fang finally started fighting back. Hell, he had even been _proud_ when recruiters came for him, noting that he was fast and quick thinking, traits common to Rabbit Fauni. Good eyes for ambushes or bad situations, as well, and he had used them to his advantage for all the years he had worked for the White Fang, and had never gotten caught once, and every single one of his messages were delivered.

And then Adam had to get stupid, teaming up with that filth Torchwick and that psycho bitch Cinder. Oh, the White Fang had suffered greatly on that day, and Vern was never happier to be a messenger and considered to be too valuable to be on the frontline. Oh, he had been busy, delivering messages, enduring the cutting insults from Torchwick and the disinterested dismissal from Cinder, but when they had made their big move, he hadn't been there. The White Fang lost…badly, and many of the more radical members were lost.

And Vern had hid.

Oh, there was no _way_ he was sticking his head out of his bolt-hole once it was clear what was happening. He was a messenger, one of the best, and to be one of the best, he had to be a survivor. So that's what he did.

He glanced back once more, but no one had followed him into the alley. Gathering his strength, he leapt the three stories up onto the roof of the building to his right. He knew this part of town like the back of his hand. He could navigate it blind, sick, near dead…whoever was following him was going to have to work to get him!

Unless…he froze, long ears twitching as he carefully listened to the sounds of city life around him. Gang members, cops, even federal investigators…they didn't worry him. But there were others…

He took off running, leaping from roof top to roof top, letting instinct guide his route. He wasn't panicking, not yet, but fear definitely was near. _Bloody Crimson Claw!_ he snarled to himself as he dropped down to the street near the warehouse district. _Just HAD to pick a fight with the strongest Huntresses in Vale…maybe even in all of Remnant!_

And he was caught up in it because of his own stubbornness. If only he had sought out the White Fang after more reasonable leaders took charge again. Being their messenger would have been far safer. Instead, he had lain low for too long, until the Crimson Claw sought him out, eager to use him to deliver their cursed messages. He shuddered again, fear making his skin crawl, and his stomach tightened at the memory of seeing their eyes, filled with hatred and rage more potent than he had ever seen before as they made it quite clear that they weren't _asking_ him to be their messenger. He would either work for them, or die.

He broke out onto the main street again, noting that the crowds were far smaller now. He glanced left, blinked, froze. _Almond eyes, black hair, magenta highlights._ Features that he _knew_ he had seen before. _Oh, God!_

And he was off, cutting across the road, bounding over a honking delivery truck, ignoring the sound of squealing tires behind him as he fled. Hunters were after him, it was the only explanation. No one else interested in catching him would have been able to keep up. A quick glance had him veering his course once again, heading deeper into the warehouse district. The young woman with the light brown hair may have been smiling, but her eyes were filled only with the promise of pain, the glint to them purely psychotic.

The next few minutes passed by in a blur until he found himself on the roof of an abandoned warehouse. It was only a passing hope, but maybe he could hide and lose them…maybe they'd think that he kept running. He ducked through one of the large windows that had no glass panes covering it, and scampered down into the dark depths of the dusty, creaking building. His eyes were sharp, however, and he could see well enough to make his way, something that the humans wouldn't be able to. Maybe he'd lose them in the darkness! His footsteps muffled by the thick dirt and dust covering the floor, he found a small niche in between some machinery that probably hadn't been run in years.

Settling into a tense hunch, he calmed his breathing, trying to relax so that his pounding heart wasn't the only thing that he could hear. _I am small, insignificant, nothing. There isn't a scared Faunus here, just broken down machinery and dust. I'm not here…only darkness and emptiness are here._ As mad as he sounded, convincing himself that he was part of the machinery in the empty building, it had worked before.

But it wouldn't work this time.

_"Silly little raaaaabbit, thought we couldn't traaaack it…"_

The voice was low, crooning, almost sultry as it called out the words in a sing-song manner, and seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, setting his skin to crawling, the horrified sob that tried to claw out of his throat only stopped at the last second by an extreme twist of will. But the words still echoed through the dark, mocking him.

His hand flew to his pockets, where he had two Flame Dust vials, and the holster was still there, reassuringly heavy against his back, but he knew that he didn't have anything that could even slow down, much less hurt, a true huntress.

_"Thought that you could loooose us, but you didn't foooooool us…"_ the voice continued, breaking off into a giggle that was made all the creepier by how girly it was.

_She doesn't know exactly where you are!_ he told himself, cold sweat breaking out on his brow as he nervously lick his lips, ears twisting, searching for sound beyond the twisted lyrics.

"…And now…you're…_found_," the voice crooned right behind him, and he jumped, spinning, seeing his true opponent for the first time. Yang Xiao Long. Who didn't know what she looked like, after what she had done for Vale and Remnant? But above that twisted, _eager_ grin on her face, her eyes glowed a fierce red, glimmering like hot coals through the shadows cast by her bangs.

Desperation guided his actions as much as anything else. Even before landing, both hands crushed the vials that he had been holding so tightly, and he welcomed the pain as the glass cut into his palms, burning power running up his forearms. With a fierce yell, he threw out several punches, fireballs erupting from his hands, streaking through the air, and he saw that she didn't move, or even try to block the blows before they struck, exploding into howling infernos.

He landed, one bloody hand reaching back, drawing his pistol, and for a brief moment, he dared to _hope_ that he had managed to get her. But then the fire died down enough for him to see into the heart of the blaze, and for a second, his heart stopped in terror.

She still stood, Semblance activated, protecting her from the flames. The smile was gone, but she was staring at him with deadly red eyes, her hair shining like a beacon as it flowed in the air like a living being. "Silly little Faaaaaaunus, thought that it could huuuuurt us," she sang over the roar of the flames, voice still sickeningly sweet as she crouched down, flames caressing her body like a lover. "But dragons…don't…BURN!"

With the last shouted word, she burst forward, flame trailing behind her, and he only managed to fire once before she was on him, the round almost contemptuously swatted away like an annoying fly.

The last thing he saw was the look of seething rage, all taunting gone as she drew back her fist, torso twisting in preparation for the heavy blow, gauntlet forming over her fist. She twisted and the fist flew forward.

Flashing impact.

Then oblivion.


	5. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**AN: Wow. A month and a half, for a sub 4000 word chapter. I have no excuse, really. I need to get back on the track of writing this, but I'm afraid it might be a month or so until the next one can come out. I'm going on my annual training soon, and those two weeks are going to be very, very busy. I will try my hardest to get the next chapter out.**

**The next chapter is going to be a bit different, though. It's going to break from the standard POV schedule. You can probably guess what's going to happen next chapter from the italicized beginning and the chapter title.**

**Sorry for the long wait, and as always, read, enjoy, and please review!**

Something Wicked This Way Comes

_"Is your strike force ready, Commander?"_

_"Sixteen of our best members, hand-picked by me. All were members of the Atlas military before the _humans_ forced them out with their bigotry."_

_"That doesn't answer my question."_

_"Everyone knows what they're doing, and they've been practicing for this from the moment she hit the hospital."_

_"Answer the question, _Commander_."_

_"…Yes. It's a risky move, but I have trust in my men."_

_"Good. For too long has man thought of us as stupid beasts, only capable of the simplest of attacks, bombings and hit-and-run attacks. This will teach them that our savagery can be every bit as sophisticated as theirs!"_

_"What about the rabbit?"_

_"That slime that allowed himself to be captured? Don't worry, he didn't know anything about this op, I made sure of that."_

_"I still have misgivings about the Hunter team stationed on the ICU. Even with those new weapons, my men aren't Hunters, and-"_

_"Did the new weapons work against the Huntsmen we captured from Vacuo?"_

_"Well, yes, but-"_

_ "Your loyalty to your men is recognized, commander, but trust in your equipment and in your men. Yes, it is risky, but there is always risk associated with these things. And you know as well as I do that we need to do this soon."_

_"Right, our eyes on the inside say that the target is on schedule to wake up soon. So, Thursday morning, 0310 hours. We'll show them precisely why they should fear the Crimson Claw."_

xxxXXXxxx

Blake stood in the control room, staring at the monitors, face impassive, hands clasped loosely behind her back. She was fairly certain that Weiss would have objected to this building's existence, had she known about it. But when Blake had become chief of security, she had been given a significant budget to bolster the SDC's security. The purchase and modification of the warehouse on the edge of Vale had been listed under anonymous expenses, and Blake had made certain that this building's exact purpose was well hidden. Save for her and the very trusted people she had working here, no one knew what was done here. But Blake had long known that the world was dark, cold, and savage, and she knew that in order to combat said savagery, she had to be willing to match that savagery.

Of course, there were limits that she wouldn't cross. No innocents would ever have to fear her, and she knew that the best way to fight inequality and prejudice was through peaceful means, means that she much preferred to any of the less savory courses of action. But she had learned long ago that there were some that had to be dealt with by force, as they were too far gone to listen to reason. And, as Weiss's head of security, she would fight that madness any means necessary, which is why she built this place. After all, she was fairly certain that Weiss would object to SDC funds going to building a torture house.

Blake grimaced at that thought. Torture house. That sounded so barbaric. Interrogation house was far more accurate, and there was a certain art about getting information from someone who was unwilling to part with it. Most idiots thought that getting info meant beating someone until they gave it up, but really, that was such an inefficient way to do it. It could take days to get anything, and more times than not, the subject would lie and give false information out of a mixture of spite towards their attackers and of a desire for the beatings to stop, even if for a while. Other techniques could mirror this approach, to include waterboarding and exposure to temperature and noise extremes. But humans and fauni were odd in that they could find resilience in pain, find the energy and will to defy their attackers.

Blake's way?

Her way was much simpler. The room where Vern Williams had been placed three days ago was very specially made. Completely soundproof, once you went in there, you couldn't hear anything but your own breathing and heartbeat. No footsteps in the hall, no electricity humming through wires, and even the lights in the room were completely silent. This room, of course, was much more effective against fauni than against humans. Fauni were, after all, much more susceptible to the 'pack' mentality…they craved contact with others, and to be removed from that could prove maddening.

She had actually put herself through the experience of being in the room, and it was horrifying, in its own way. Even going in, knowing what to expect…her skin shuddered. She had never felt so alone, even while surviving in Ever Fall after running away from Adam. The silence had been all-encompassing, to the point where her own breathing and heartbeat had become painful to listen to. At first she had tried talking into the silence, but it hadn't been enough. She hadn't been able to stay in for more than two days.

She glanced at Vern, where he was huddled in a corner, rocking gently back and forth, ears drooped, and she did feel a pang of regret for what she was doing to him. He was probably hearing things by now, mind conjuring noises to fill the vacuum. He'd be ready soon. "Keep an eye on him," she ordered the monitor tech.

"Roger, boss. He hasn't said anything since he talked out loud the first day, but we'll let you know if anything changes," George replied, before grimacing at the screen. "Poor bastard."

She couldn't help but agree with that thought. The temperature in the room was slightly lower than normal, but not cold enough to cause any injury, just discomfort. The room also had a thin mattress and a toilet, and meals were delivered three times a day, carefully measured to give two thousand calories and all the necessary vitamins, nutrients, and minerals. After the first twelve hours of Vern's being in the room, Blake had ordered that the lights be shut off save for fifteen minutes during each mealtime, and then for ten minutes every two hours, allowing Vern to relieve himself. After all, while fauni could see very well in low light conditions, they were just as blind as humans when there was no light to enhance. Vern spent most of his day blind and deaf, his only companion his mind that was steadily cracking under the pressure. And the key to this technique was that there was no one that he could associate with the torture, no one to set his will against. The food was delivered through a slot in the wall, the lights were controlled remotely, and the cameras were well hidden. He may know exactly who was behind his imprisonment, but with a lack of contact, that didn't matter.

Blake nodded briskly. "Right, keep up the good work, and let me know if the situation changes." Glancing once more at the forlorn form in the corner of the room, Blake turned, and swept out of the room. Maybe that was what was really different between her and the Crimson Claw. They likely didn't feel regret for any of their deeds. But her? Even though she knew the necessity of it, she truly did feel sorry for Vern. Their research into his background suggested that he wasn't enraptured by the Crimson Claw's blood thirsty ideals, that he had merely been dragged into the situation without being given an alternative. Stopping just before getting into her car, she looked back at the unassuming building. "I'll make it up to you. You don't have to forgive me for what I've done, and I certainly don't deserve any forgiveness…but you'll be safe after this, I swear it."

But her words felt empty in the summer evening's air, and she couldn't help the wave of self-loathing from descending upon her as she began to make the trip back to her apartment. Yes, she was helping Ruby, and she was helping to take down an extremely dangerous and radical organization that was threatening the peace of both humans and fauni, but it didn't change the fact that she was torturing a fellow faunus for a human's sake. Her thoughts didn't get much brighter throughout the drive, and the feeling of lithe power under her hands and feet didn't cheer her up like it usually did.

The car had been a gift from Weiss, a bonus to taking the prodigious task of being the head of security, and Blake had loved it from the moment she had first seen it, which surprised her. She was never one for cars or for machines in general, but there was something about the sleek lines of the shiny black sports coupe that fascinated her. It looked like a black panther, she had realized after staring at it for a dumbfounded minute, before deciding that its name was Bagheera. And starting her for the first time…THAT had been amazing as the powerful engine roared to life, eager to open up and take her places. And Bagheera had been as graceful and as powerful as her beautiful frame had suggested…but now it all seemed distant, dead, any joy that she could have felt held at bay by her disgust in her actions.

Suddenly angry, she made her way to the freeway and accelerated hard, nimbly passing the much slower moving cars and trucks instinctively, the car acting as an extension of her body. She kept pushing and pushing, until the engine was howling its defiance at the world as she screamed along at a speed that was close to being described as ludicrous. She could go faster still, but she glanced in the mirror, and saw flashing red and blue lights. Lights that were rapidly receding as she pulled away from them, and for a moment she considered continuing to run.

But then more reasonable thinking prevailed, and she began to downshift and brake until she was pulled well off to the side of the road, hands resting on the dashboard, in plain view, patiently waiting for the police car to catch up. It arrived presently, and she winced as the searchlight was turned on and trained on her as one of the cops opened the door, crouching behind it protectively as his pistol came out.

"GET OUT OF THE CAR, AND KEEP YOUR HANDS IN VIEW!"

Blake sighed and rolled her eyes at the command over the PA, but she did as she was told, actions smooth and deliberate, as non-threatening as she could make them. Turning to face the police, she squinted into the bright light, unable to make out anything but silhouettes. The cop behind the door stood, barked something at his partner, and the searchlight was shut off. That done, he holstered his pistol and started to make his way over to her.

"Sorry, Miss Belladonna, we thought that someone had stolen your car," he called out once closer.

She scoffed. "I imagine that it would be a mercy for them to be apprehended by the police, rather than by me."

"Right," he said with a concerned frown as he came to a stop in front of her. Uncomfortable silence reigned for a moment, broken only by cars whizzing past them, curious onlookers peering at the scene from windows flashing by. "Miss Belladonna…you do realize how fast you were going, don't you?" A sharp-witted retort was caught on the end of her tongue, but rather than heckle the man for doing his job, she merely stared at him. He shifted nervously under her gaze. "You were going one hundred sixty kilometers per hour over the speed limit…was there an emergency you needed to get to?"

"No, not really." At her words, he grew even more uncomfortable, and she decided to have mercy on him. "Would you like my license and registration?" Give him something to do, rather than fixate on just whom he had pulled over. He nodded, and she returned to the car, grabbing the necessary documents, handing it to him.

"This'll be just a bit," he apologized, and she shrugged.

"No emergency to get to, officer, I'm fine with waiting." And as he made his way back to his squad car, she sat back down, gazing thoughtfully back at him.

What would have happened if she wasn't Blake Belladonna, one of the saviors of Vale, renowned Huntress, and head of security with the Schnee Dust Company? She probably would have been arrested for reckless driving, endangerment of others, and a slew of other charges.

Then her thoughts turned darker. As a faunus, the arrest probably would have been violent, and the whole process much less pleasant. She wasn't deaf to the whispers on the street, the warnings floating with the wind. Tensions had been rising again between fauni and humans, human shops segregating who they served, fauni travelling in groups for safety. And the fact that this was happening in Vale, which was a historically open-minded city, meant that it was probably much worse elsewhere, though her foreign contacts hadn't brought any significant news to her…yet. But this was all due to the Crimson Claw. Their acts had raised a lot of suspicion against all fauni, because who could say who was acting as a spy or scout, readying a location for an attack? And could she blame those suspicious? Analysis of the attack on the Vale Headquarters revealed a strong likelihood that the Crimson Claw had prepared for it for some time, to include reconnoitering the site in order to gather information. Really, any fauni could be a mole. It would be night impossible to find a well-placed spy, if they knew what they were doing, and like she had said to Yang, they had killed all the stupid ones.

"Miss Belladonna?"

Jerked from her thoughts, she glanced up at the cop, who was holding her documents, plus an extra sheet of paper. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't ignore how fast you were going. However, in light of your actions in defense and support of Vale, I've given you a huge break. The ticket is for going fifteen kilometers per hour over the speed limit. I have let HQ know about this, on the down low, so if you're caught going that fast again, you'll face the full penalty."

This was where she was supposed to thank him, she supposed, but she was seized by an irrational anger, and anger that made her want to cuss him out, to hit him, to force him to hold her accountable for her decision to go so dangerously fast. Why should she, of all people, be let off with a much less serious charge than what she deserved? She had broken the law, in a way that could have resulted in someone's death, and she was getting a slap on the wrist.

With great effort, she forced herself to calm down, and she took the papers from the officer with a strained smile. "My thanks to you."

"And please, be safe going home."

She nodded, recognizing the hidden request in the words. "I plan on going nowhere else for this evening, sir."

He tapped the brim of his hat. "Stay safe, ma'am."

She started Bagheera, signaled, and entered traffic, making sure to keep exactly the speed limit, suddenly feeling drained as she made her way back home, twilight turning into full night by the time she pulled into the parking garage. She blinked in surprise at the sight of Bumblebee, and she felt a twinge of guilt. While she was joy riding, Yang had likely been waiting for her to come back. Another way that she had messed up. Perfect.

The trip up to her floor was rapid enough, and she wondered what was waiting for her when she unlocked her door. Yang's visits ranged from endearing to hysterical, depending on Yang's mood, but as she stepped inside, there weren't any of the signs she took as warnings. Instead, a warm, gentle glow emanated from the living room area, and Blake's ears twitched as they caught the sound of snoring. Frowning curiously, she turned the corner, and stopped, smiling gently.

Yang was sprawled out on the couch, dressed in her short sleeping shorts and a tight tank top, magazine on the floor beside her outstretched arm, her other arm thrown over her eyes, and mouth open. She snorted, wriggled deeper into the couch, smacked her lips, and continued to snore, oblivious to the thin line of drool running from the corner of her mouth. The rest of the room was lit by Blake's candles, and Blake could see it now, Yang setting up the candles, dressed in her sleep clothes, ready to spend the night. She probably waited up for a while, ready to say something that she thought was sultry and witty, before sleep caught up with her. Once more, Blake's chest twinged with guilt, and she couldn't help but feel that she had again failed her girlfriend.

When was the last time they had had the chance to hang out? They hadn't been on a date since before the attack, and both of them had been busy trying to run down the Crimson Claw. Blake could barely remember the last time she had even kissed Yang. She went back into the entryway, hanging up her coat in the closet and taking off her tie, undoing the top buttons on her shirt. There were things to be said about looking professional, but it was always nice to unwind at the end of the day. She stopped in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of merlot before returning to the living room, folding herself into one of the chairs, staring fondly at Yang as she enjoyed her wine.

The golden-haired pugilist snorted again, sitting upright in a shot, looking around wildly before her eyes fell on Blake. She blinked sleepily, fingers brushing her mouth before she scowled, wiping away the drool trail with the back of her hand. "You could've woken me up," she murmured before yawning mightily, stretching her arms above her head, and Blake felt her pulse quicken at the view.

"I didn't mind watching," she replied.

"Meh, I could feel you staring at me," Yang groused, before shooting her an apologetic glance. "Sorry I couldn't stay up."

"No, it's my fault, I should've been home sooner," Blake said as she set her wine glass on the coffee table before standing, making her way over to Yang, and straddling her lap, gut clenching at the flash of heat in Yang's eyes.

"Well, hello, kitten," Yang rumbled deep in her chest, fingers brushing Blake's cheeks gently. Blake smiled, leaned down, and they shared a tender kiss. They broke apart, Yang's eyes half-lidded and happy. "So, what were you up to today?"

"Went to see our friend, Vern. I think he'll be ready tomorrow. I'm going to call in Velvet, she was never too closely associated with our team, and he'll likely connect with a fellow rabbit faunus than anyone else we know."

Yang frowned at that. "And she's okay with helping us with this sort of thing? Doesn't seem in keeping with her mindset."

"She's not happy, but she knows just as well as anyone that he's our only lead so far, and she's just waiting for my call. She should be here tomorrow evening, if I call her tonight or tomorrow morning." She leaned in for another kiss, her hair falling over Yang's, creating a dark veil. They continued like that for a few minutes, and as they broke the kiss, Blake rested her head against Yang's shoulder. "What news from Ruby?"

"She's just about ready to be taken off the ventilator, and being well cared for. There's a lot of interesting characters on that floor, I'll certainly say. But her doc says that they'll be bringing her out of the medical coma during the day on Thursday. At the latest, she'll be awake by Friday."

Blake sighed in relief at that. So, in two or three days, Ruby would be awake, and they'd be one step closer to her being well again. Everything was coming together. She'd have to thank Velvet when she arrived, do something really nice for her. Taking time off in the middle of the week to help her out was likely a challenge, and it was likely going to be fun for the demure young woman to explain to her team the situation. "Oh, sorry, everyone, I'm just going to travel to Vale on Wednesday evening in order to aid in the torture of a member of the radical Crimson Claw. Have fun with the hunt while I'm gone!" Not likely.

"Hey." Yang's concerned tone brought her out of her thoughts, and she sat back up, looking into her girlfriend's face. "Are you okay?"

Blake shrugged. "I just…I really don't like this whole situation. I just wish that there was peace between humans and fauni. I'm so tired of the bloodshed, so tired of being divided on the issue."

Yang cupped her cheek, drew her in for another, tender kiss. "I can't change that, but for now we have each other, right? Let's go to bed, okay?"

Blake gave a small smile. The next few moments were quiet as they put out the candles and she finished her glass of wine. But even though she should have been at least content in Yang's presence, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that something bad was on the horizon. Shaking her head firmly, she grasped Yang's hand. No. She should focus on the present, spend the night actually being with Yang, rather than being somewhere a million miles away.

Mind made up, she pushed her depressed thoughts away, and grabbed Yang, drawing her into a much more heated kiss as she kicked the door shut behind her. Everything was getting better, they'd know more about the Crimson Claw on the morrow, and Ruby would be waking up soon. Everything was great.

And she had no way of knowing just how wrong she actually was.


	6. Negotiation and Preparation

**AN: Well, this was originally going to be one chapter, but when the first half amounted to 5,157 words, I decided it was better to split it up. Hence the title of the chapter. Anyway, as it stands, I should have the second half done by the weekend. My schedule should quiet down for the next few months, which will give me more time to write. There shouldn't be any more long pauses between chapters. I don't think I'll be able to maintain a once-a-week schedule, but I am hoping for a post every other week. I might be able to be motivated to post more often (nudge-nudge-wink-wink).**

**Not much to warn about this chapter, but as a heads-up, next chapter will have graphic violence. Something to look forward to, I suppose. Also, this chapter and the next _will_ have a hopping POV. I think that they should be the only chapters that this will happen in, but with everything that is going to happen, it was necessary. Be prepared. This time I made sure that the breaks were clearly labelled...last time took out the dividers. Murr.**

**Anyhoo, read, enjoy, and please review!**

Negotiation and Preparation

or

Hell at the Hospital (Part I)

Schnee Dust Company Headquarters Building

Vale, 08:18

"What were you _thinking_?!" The words cracked around Weiss's spacious office, the room lit with a cheery glow from the morning sun that was at odds with her mood, and she struggled to rein in her emotions. After all, it wasn't very often that Weiss got really, truly angry at her friends. In fact, she knew that the last time she was this mad at Blake was when she found out that her friend had been a member of the White Fang. But now? Now was different, now Blake's actions reflected on the company, right when they were being watched so carefully. And the fact that Blake was just _standing _there, staring at her passively? It just made her angrier. But how much of that anger was a sense of self-disgust for yelling at her friend like this? Her words had been harsh, and justly so, but the way that Blake just stood there passively…the longer Weiss berated her, the more she felt disgust at this red-hot anger burning in her chest.

Suddenly tired, Weiss returned to her desk and threw herself down in her chair. "Just…why? Why did you think it was _appropriate_ to go so bloody fast?"

Blake blinked slowly in an eerily feline way before responding. "I wasn't thinking. I was just suddenly angry at myself, at the world…I needed a release."

"Don't you have Yang for that?" Weiss bit out cattily, but she instantly regretted her words at the slight twitch in Blake's eyes, the way her face turned from passive to stony. Weiss blew out an explosive breath, fingers going to her temple. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. But put yourself in my shoes. I'm in a late-night board meeting trying to shift resources and do what's best for the company when I suddenly get a call. It was the chief of police, no less, informing me that my head of security was just pulled over on the freeway, going so fast that they were considering calling in Bullheads to stop you." And once more, she was angry, remembering the scorn in the older man's voice, asking if she had her pet on a leash. That had nearly set her off, but she knew full well what a favor the old bastard was doing, in not going public with precisely who he had pulled over. And though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't help but blame Blake for the man's racist words, his insinuation that she only hired Blake out of a misguided sense of pity, never mind Blake's history within Vale. If Blake hadn't sped like that, the man's ugliness could have stayed safely hidden, and the Schnee family wouldn't have to be indebted to such a man for keeping the incident on the down-low.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Bullheads. Really? Like that could have stopped me."

Weiss shot to her feet, slamming her palms against her desk. "DAMMIT, BLAKE, THIS ISN'T A JOKE!" she roared, the volume and anger of the words taking even her by surprise. She took a few deep, calming breaths before she continued, pointedly ignoring the look of shocked surprise on Blake's face, and how her friend's sensitive ears had turned away from her outburst. "If this got out, can you imagine the bad PR? I can see it now, the news agencies taking this and running with it, accusing us of breaking the laws because we _can_, because no cop would _dare_ arrest us for anything short of actually hurting someone! No, the rich and famous aren't treated the same way as everyone else!" she bit out in a mocking voice.

"Hey, I didn't ask for any special treatment!" Blake retorted hotly, eyes narrowing dangerously.

Glad for the challenge, Weiss curled her fingers in to form fists. "Like that would have been any better, you getting _arrested_ for this? What would the public think, what would I say to the Board to justify keeping you?! Or worse yet, what if you had hurt or had killed someone with this stunt?! The news companies are watching us like hawks right now, waiting for a story! Thank GOD the Chief of Police chose to keep this quiet!"

Blake stared at her for a long moment, eyes hurt and angry. "Yes, the same Chief of Police who turned blind eyes on violent crimes against the Faunus. Thank God _he_ is the hero of this incident!"

Weiss felt her lips curl back in a snarl. "And that's precisely why you should be begging for forgiveness! Not only could you have actually hurt someone, not only could this have been the excuse that members of the Board have been positively _waiting_ for so that they could demand your termination from your position, but now that fucker is holding this over our heads! I'm indebted to that close-minded buffoon because of _your_ actions!"

Blake took a half-step forward, face clouded with anger, but she visibly calmed herself down, and Weiss wondered what scathing remarks she had so narrowly avoided. She wouldn't find out, and that was likely a good thing. Instead, Blake took several deep breaths, composing her face once more. "You're right. I was wrong to do what I did, and I apologize. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Relieved that the matter was resolved, but still annoyed that it hadn't turned into a shouting match that she _knew_ would have been a stress relief for the both of them, she couldn't help one last quip. "So, are there any more laws that you're breaking that I should know about, so I can be prepared when the cops call me?"

It had been a joke, a way for Blake to smile with her eyes while her still stern mouth answered in the negative, a way for them to move on to other business, but then Blake flicked her eyes away from her, the corners of her mouth tightening slightly as something (was that _guilt_?) flickered deep within her golden eyes. Weiss frowned thoughtfully as she focused all her concentration on Blake's face, but when her friend brought her eyes back onto her, they were carefully blank. The moment had been so brief that it could have been imagined, but…

"Blake, what aren't you telling me?" The question was delivered in a low, cautious voice, and Weiss wasn't entirely certain that she wanted to know the answer. It would have to be something B-A-D, _bad_ if Blake was willing to try and hide it from her. But before Blake could even draw a breath to answer, a polite knock sounded at the door, and Weiss's secretary stuck her head into the room.

"My apologies, Miss Schnee, but the White Fang are ready for the negotiations."

"Thank you, Hana, we'll be right out." When the door closed with a quiet click, Weiss sighed. "Look, Blake, I get that you're under a lot of stress. We all are. Just remember that no matter how stressful it gets, there is no excuse for that sort of behavior. You need to act in a manner worthy of your position. We're under too much scrutiny for anything less. Do you understand?"

"Yes, of course. As I said before, it won't happen again."

"Good." Weiss grabbed her white dress coat from where she had draped it over the back of her chair, and put it on. Striding towards the wall, she glanced over her shoulder to Blake. "Do we have any leads on the Crimson Claw? I remember Yang mentioning that her contacts might have something a few days ago, but I haven't heard anything since." Had all of her attention been on Blake, she might have noticed another guilty twinge in her friend's face, but she was instead pressing her hand against a non-descript panel in the wall, which read her fingerprints and biometrics before opening a compartment that held her half-cloak and arm and shoulder armor, Myrtenaster, and enough Dust vials to get her through a battle. Her main method of defending herself might be out of view, but it was never far from her.

"No, nothing yet, but when we have some…solid leads, we'll let you know. I have faith in Yang." Silence reigned as Weiss threw on her cloak and buckled on the sword belt that held Myrtenaster and its sheath. "Are you sure you're up for this? You still seem a bit angry."

Weiss closed the hidden compartment with a soft click, and stood there for a few moments, palm resting against the highly polished walls as she centered herself, categorizing and putting away the anger of last night's phone call and this morning's talk with Blake. _There we go. Now I'm ready_. She turned around with a confident smirk. "Up for this? The question you should ask is if you're ready to see history being made."

She strode purposefully past Blake, well aware of how her cloak flared behind her, and she imperiously stepped out of her office, shoulders back and head held high, drawing her dignity and poise about her like an armor. "Conference Room H, Miss Sakurei," she ordered with much more formality than she would have normally, and Hana nodded obediently, aware of the song and dance being conducted now. For this to go well, she needed to be Weiss Schnee, Head of the Schnee Dust Company, not Weiss Schnee, the Huntress, or Weiss Schnee, the twenty-three year old girl. And this absolutely HAD to go well.

Blake silently following her, Weiss strode down the hall, and within a few minutes, they both entered a dark conference room that had many projectors arranged in a semi-circular fashion around a table that was headed by a comfortable chair that had several incredibly expensive cameras and microphones trained on it. She settled into it, careful to sweep Myrtenaster around so that it was not only easy to draw it, but also so that it was visible. Blake moved to her position behind and to the left of the chair. Like Myrtenaster, she was where she could not only react to a threat rapidly, but also so that she, too, was visible on the camera. Weiss felt a moment of guilt that she was reducing her friend to a symbol, but she squashed the feeling. It was all the price of politics and the at times petty maneuvering that came with being in her position. Everything she said, everything she did, everything about her would be carefully analyzed.

"Then let my words go down into posterity," she whispered. Briefly, Blake's hand landed on her shoulder, and she squeezed gently, reassuringly. Smiling softly, Weiss rested her hand on Blake's, glad for the last minute show of comfort.

"_And they're ready, Miss Schnee,_" came the disembodied voice of the technician…Bill? "_Going live in five…_" Blake's hand left her shoulder. "_…four…_" Weiss sat up straighter, squaring her shoulders. "_…three…_" She fixed on an appropriately somber and concerned face. "_…two…_" The projectors began to hum softly, lenses flaring as the lights on the cameras and microphones on her turned from red to green. "_…one…_"

It was go time.

xxxXXXxxx

Blake had almost rolled her eyes at Weiss's proclamation of history being made, but as the six figures were projected on the holo-screens, she fervently hoped that Weiss was right. She couldn't see her friend's face, but her shoulders were well set, and her breathing was calm, deep, and measured. Given how angry Weiss had been at her only fifteen minutes ago, she was amazed that she was as composed as she was.

Blake kept her face carefully blank, knowing what her role was here. Silent supporter, protector, and weapon, if need be. It wasn't easy to be in her position, though. She recognized all but two of the figures that were now turning curious and guarded eyes on her friend.

Weiss waited for all of them to be looking at her before she began with a graceful nod. "Esteemed ladies and gentlemen. I am grateful to have been given such an opportunity as this, to speak to you as an equal unto other equals, so that we may continue to negotiate a better future for all. Before we begin, however, I ask for permission to record this conversation, and urge you to do the same, so that there will be clear records on both sides. I feel that this will reduce the likelihood of misunderstanding. Your thoughts?"

"A wise choice, Miss Schnee. And I likewise thank you for giving us this opportunity to voice our grievances and our own hopes for the future. We will agree to the recording of this meeting on both sides," the eldest of the Faunus said, voice graveled, and face worn with age and grief. "If I may have a moment?" Again, Weiss nodded with grace. "My thanks…Blake, my child…it has been far too long. How are you these days?"

Blake closed her eyes as she gave a short, respectful bow. "I am well, Andrei."

"I trust you are finding your current employment more tasteful than the last?"

A loaded question, and she fought the urge to wince. Andrei, a reindeer Faunus who had been old when he had handed over command of the White Fang to Adam, seemed positively ancient now. For Blake, who could vividly remember his kind, soft words of peaceful protest before things had gone so terribly bad, it was painful. But he had never agreed to the violence, and had gone into a self-inflicted exile until Adam was defeated. The White Fang had desperately needed a leader to fill the void, and Andrei had emerged from hiding to bring the White Fang back to a path of peace. But he had been kept aware of the goings-on of the White Fang even during his absence, and knew of Blake's own actions. Hence the question. "I would not have been able to bear working for Weiss's father," she answered truthfully, voice ringing with conviction in the dark room. "However, I find my work now to be more fulfilling than anything I had done under Adam."

Andrei smiled at that, old eyes knowing, while most of the other White Fang representatives shifted uneasily. None of them had been in any sort of leadership capacity under Adam, Blake knew, but that didn't mean that some of them hadn't respected him, hadn't been captured by his dark charisma. After all, there was still much anger between the Faunus and humans. It would take years, decades even, for that to change. But they were trying…this meeting alone was proof of that. Almost as though he had heard Blake's thought, Andrei focused once more on Weiss. "So, Miss Schnee. We have graciously agreed to hear your words. What is it you wish to talk about?"

Weiss took a moment before she answered, voice slow and thoughtful. "I suppose that I would like to start this meeting by acknowledging the criminality of the Schnee Dust Company's policies while it was under my father's control, and I offer the most profound of apologies. Had our company not acted as it did, then the anger of the White Fang would never have been unleashed upon our holdings."

A bit high-handed in her choice of words, Blake mused, but fitting for this meeting. But behind the formal, lofty prose was a startling olive branch, and Weiss's audience knew it. Some of the younger members had rocked back, surprise clearly visible on their faces. Up until this point, both sides had seemed to understand that the past was not to be mentioned, for fear of sparking more conflict. For Weiss to open up the meeting by admitting and apologizing for the dark deed's of the SDC was monumental. Andrei had managed to keep a mostly straight face, the only visible reaction he had given was a slight widening of his eyes. "As the leader of the White Fang, I recognize your words, Miss Schnee, and I will go so far as to say that the blame was not solely within your company. The acts of terror and violence that the White Fang resorted to can never be justified. I am glad, however, that though you are young, you possess the wisdom and maturity to be willing to move forward."

"I thank you for the compliment, sir. As you well know, the SDC is currently leading in the efforts to create equal working conditions for both humans and the Faunus, largely due to my own efforts. I will not tolerate any discrimination on the part of my company."

"But what if you weren't in charge of the SDC?" Blake narrowed her eyes slightly as the soft, sultry voice. Snake Faunus, in her mid-twenties, gracefully curled up in her chair, and resting her chin in her palm, silver eyes glinting as she perused Weiss. What was her name…Sarisha? "You have done much for my people, but what if you were removed?"

Once again, Weiss paused before answering, but this time, Blake could almost feel her tensing up. Trust the younger leaders to ask the questions that were less honest queries and more challenges to what Weiss was trying to accomplish. When Weiss began to speak again, her voice was noticeably more chilly. "I shudder at the thought of what might be done with my company should I no longer run it, but I do not think that it would matter overmuch. After all, it is now _law_ in Vale and Vacuo that there is to be no pay discrimination, whether male, female, human, Faunus, or any other combination. Additionally, other major corporations in Atlas have also raised their pay scale, even though it was done rather grudgingly. So while they aren't protected by law in all the realms, the Faunus have been enjoying far greater working freedoms than ever before. And there are many companies out there that would love to see my company suffer. If, God forbid, my sister take over my spot and then decide to lower wages across the board, which she would legally have to, the other companies in most of the realms would gladly keep their wages higher, if only to see the SDC lose all of its workers. And finally, while it is all too easy to justify the denial of equal pay and working conditions to any minority, it is nigh impossible to take something away, once given. The protests and strikes that would occur if the Faunus were to lose their newfound privileges would be disastrous."

Sarisha gave a satisfied smirk. "Eloquently put, Miss Schnee. You have not disappointed us yet. So, what is it that you have in mind? Surely this meeting is about far more than elaborate apologies."

Weiss leaned forward, steepling her fingers. "An alliance, of sorts. If you have any information on the Crimson Claw, we would greatly appreciate access to it. Additionally, if either the White Fang or the Schnee Dust Company should come under attack, we would aid each other, either with direct action, or with financial and emergency aid after the fact."

And instantly the room was in an uproar, with all but Andrei and Sarisha leaping to their feet and hurling accusations at Weiss, saying that she was trying to pit Faunus against Faunus, that she was only pushing for Faunus work rights to suit her own hidden agenda, that she was no better than her father. Andrei merely closed his eyes, a look of pained patience on his face, while Sarisha merely narrowed her eyes, staring at Weiss with a coldly calculating look. It took some time, but the more vocal of the Faunus calmed down, and Andrei leaned forward. "Knowing the gravity of what you ask of us, what is it that you have to offer us?" he asked, voice somber and quiet, but also hiding great power, the distant whisper of a tsunami or volcanic eruption. Blake knew that Weiss would have to choose her words very, very carefully, or risk ruining whatever goodwill she had earned thus far.

She didn't disappoint. "Why, only what you've always wanted, but have never had. How does official recognition and a base of capitol sound? I've researched your humble beginnings of running soup kitchens and forming support groups for the Faunus who were in need. I can't promise anything outside of Vale, but I've spoken with the Vale City Council and Professor Ozpin. With my company's backing, we can not only fund part of your necessary expenses for continuing those noble traditions of the past, but we can also help you organize peaceful rallies, charities, support groups, and more. Do you need extra security at rallies? Done. People may be less willing to attack your people when they know that they will incur the wrath of the Schnee Dust Company. With a Schnee behind you, you'll be able to do much more. And think of it…with official recognition from Vale's government, you'll have much more clout here. Should this go well, I could even imagine the formation of a political party…how does the Faunus Labor Party sound? Granted, I know that it isn't likely that they'll ever win a seat in the executive branch, but having members on the legislative will do much for you. So…you ask what it is I offer, and you have your answer."

Silence reined absolute, even the loudest of the Faunus from early staring at her in shock. But then Sarisha sat up straight and leaned forward, eyes still narrowed. "So…what you offer is for the Schnee Dust Company to have some measure of control over the White Fang, to collar and muzzle us with your money. If you do not agree with our agenda, what is there to stop you from stopping your support, leaving us blowing in the wind? And I know…the winds can be very angry and cruel. Is it worth it to have your capitol, when we would become indebted to you? And once more, what if you are replaced? What then?"

"Then you still have the support of the Council and of Professor Ozpin. And I do not deny that you would be indebted to me and my company. But is that truly such a bad thing, Sarisha of Vacuo? After all, we are both interested in prosperous peace. There is but one enemy, the creatures of Grimm. Would you rather have my support in creating peaceful protests, in starting support programs and running soup kitchens for all those that are hungry? Or would you rather be held under the thrall of the likes of Adam Taurus, Cinder Fall, and Roman Torchwick, used as puppets to unleash Grimm upon helpless innocents and then turn your noble group into a rabid, murderous gang only interested in death and bloodshed?" Weiss turned to face her, and Blake was surprised to see the conviction in her friend's eyes. "Blake Belladonna, once member of the White Fang…why was the White Fang created?"

For a moment her mind was blank. This wasn't in the script, this wasn't how she was to be used in meetings like this. But then she saw…if Weiss told the White Fang why they had been created, she would appear to be patronizing them. Better to have her, someone almost borne into the White Fang, to give the answer to that question. "The White Fang was created in order to unify the Faunus under one flag, to bring us together, to give us focus and direction to bring about our recognition as more than third class citizens to humanity's governments."

Weiss smiled at her, a small, secret smile that lit her eyes up with joy, and Blake's heart lurched as she thought of Vern, still in the basement. Weiss wouldn't be that happy with her if she knew. But before she could think too long on that, Weiss turned back towards her audience. "Yes, to be recognized by humanity. I am here to herald that recognition, with no malice or deceipt in my heart. I am here to offer my aid, with peace being my only objective. Sarisha, you spoke of wind…well, I am here to tell you that the winds of change are blowing. Will you not join me to see what bright future they lead to?"

Sarisha leaned back in her chair once more, a contented smile on her face, and Blake suddenly wondered what her actual objective was. Was she there to truly oppose Weiss, or was she merely playing devil's advocate? She didn't know much about the young woman, and resolved to fix that. She had the feeling that Sarisha could be either a priceless ally or a deadly enemy.

Andrei cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. "This is truly a just offer, Miss Schnee, and is more than we could have ever expected or have even hoped for coming from a Schnee. We will think on it. However, I beg that you be cautious. As noble as your deeds and intentions are, too much change will be resisted. And take it from one who knows all too well…humans and the Faunus both can deny reason and do the most irrational and horrible things with barely any prompting. I applaud your efforts, but take care that they don't destroy you." He reached forward, out of the field of view, and his hologram blinked off. The other quickly followed his cue, with Sarisha being the last. She shot the two of them a coy smile as she touched her brow and dipped her head in a small bow, eyes glittering as she, too, exited the conference.

Once the lights on the cameras and microphones turned off, Weiss spun to face her, a triumphant, tired smile on her face. "See, told you I could do it."

"A master negotiator indeed," Blake replied, with none of the customary sarcasm or gentle sass that they all threw at each other. And, deep in her heart of hearts, she was crying out, asking where Weiss was before Adam, before the White Fang became sullied with the blood of the innocent. But the past was past, no use dwelling on it. She could only hope that the future was as peaceful as Weiss hoped.

Sadly, it was not to be.

xxxXXXxxx

Outskirts of Vale, 13:42

The atmosphere inside the old, abandoned warehouse was nothing less than charged, the thirty-four Faunus within its dusty interior focused on their tasks of pre-combat checks and vehicle maintenance. The ancient panther Faunus known to his subordinates only as the Commander was briefing the plan once again, confident that his soldiers were paying attention even as they cleaned their weapons, making sure that they were all fully functional and almost surgically clean, only the lightest coats of oil to keep them from jamming at the most inopportune moment. The plan may fail completely, but it would be not because of their gear.

"Insertion will be at 0305, and extraction will be precisely twenty minutes later. Everyone has synched their watches, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the leader of the strike force answered. A less disciplined individual might have said it with a touch of sarcasm, or with a roll of the eyes, but Abraham was too professional for that. And like all professionals, he recognized the value of triple and quadruple checks before operations as dangerous as this. His team had been training hard together for almost a year now, and had been training for this particular mission from the moment that Ruby Rose had been wounded and not killed, the plan growing more and more refined as more intelligence was gathered. All his people had the blueprints of the hospital memorized, they all knew precisely where they needed to be, and when. This final briefing was just so they could prove to the Old Man that they knew what they were about.

"Michael, what are you doing with your team?"

The leader of one of the four Faunus assault teams stood, taking the slim pointer and pointing to the appropriate areas on the 3D diagram of the hospital. "Enter here, move down the maintenance staircase, wipe out the power room for the building. After that, move here, to the main entrance, and secure it from any unwanted entry. Along the way, wipe out the security check points here and here, and take out the security control center here, just before the main entrance."

"Very good. Sarah?"

The lanky cat Faunus looked up from where she was cleaning her anti-material rifle. "Secure the roof top with the other sniper team, provide harassing fire on any oncoming police and Hunter teams. Secure the LZ for the Bullheads when they return."

"James?"

The massively built bull Faunus, normally stoic and of few words, stroked his jaw as he studied the diagrams carefully. "My heavy weapons and demolition team will be accompanying Abraham and his team to the floor the target is on. We'll disable the elevators here, here, and here while his team secure the stairs. Once that's done, we'll breach the section she's in, take out the target, and evac."

"Very good. This should take less than twenty minutes. If you are ready for pick-up, call it in. Have all the radios been tested?"

"Yes, sir."

The Commander stopped speaking, looking into the distance, thinking of how the plan could go wrong. After all, no plan survived contact with the enemy. Something was going to go wrong, the only question was what that was going to be, and how to plan for it. The teams all knew multiple contingency plans. What to do if there were more than the two Beacon students that they knew for certain were posted on the ICU. What to do if the two students weren't in the waiting room as they usually were. What to do if they met more resistance than expected. What to do if Vale Bullheads arrived. What to do if their enemies tried to use tear gas. All these and more they planned for. It was his job to try and think of anything that they might have missed.

Finally, he nodded gravely as he leaned forward, bracing himself on the table. "This may be our only chance to do this. Our intel reports that they're going to take the target off of her sedatives, and she'll be awake soon. However, at no point are you to just throw your lives away. If you can't take the target out in the allotted time, evacuate as planned. I would rather you failed the mission and lived than completed it and died. That said, I have full confidence in your ability to get the mission done…just don't do anything stupid. Come home victorious, and give the Crimson Claw something to celebrate." He glanced at his watch. "Finish up your checks, then get some rest. It's going to be a long night."


	7. Operation Surgical Strike

**AN: Holy crap, this is a long chapter! I know I said I wanted to post this on the weekend, but then I wrote...and wrote...and wrote, until I had 9,854 words down. This chapter took a lot out of me, and I most likely won't be posting anything until next weekend, especially since I have drill this weekend.**

**This should be the only super long chapter for a good while. Now we'll be going into Ruby's recovery, which should be rather extensive. There will also be the repercussions of this chapter to deal with, but that will come a bit later.**

**As always, read, enjoy, and please review!**

Operation Surgical Strike

or

Hell at the Hospital (Part II)

Vale Memorial Hospital

Downtown of Vale, 15:03

Dr. Jabir al-Tabeeb flipped through the chart, dark eyes thoughtful as he considered the information recorded there. All of his patients were dear to him, and he felt every loss as if it were his own sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers who had passed on, just as every life saved and body, mind, and spirit healed was dear to him, victories to take with him when his own time came and he went to be judged. Even so, he knew that the patient lying still on the bed before him was special.

Ruby Rose. Savior of Vale, Huntress of the highest caliber, famous around the world for her deeds in protecting the meek and defenseless, often for little of no charge. She was, without a doubt, a heroine, one whose deeds would sung about for generations to come. For her to be injured thus…for a moment, his hands tightened on the scroll as anger surged. She knew the risks she took every time she went out to fight the soulless creatures of Grimm, as did every Hunter and Huntress. But for those with souls to be so violent against someone with such nobility and decency made him sick, a bitterness surging within.

…But he had taken an oath long ago, hadn't he? Let his hands heal, not harm. Let none fear him, let all come to him for aid. Even if one of the Crimson Claw were to come to him as a patient, he would treat them the same as if they were the pure-hearted young woman lying before him. His path wasn't always the easiest, but at night when he laid down to rest, his heart and conscience was clear. He merely tried to be a good man in a world where wickedness still existed.

"Let us begin," he said, and he and Ruby's nurse for that shift, an ever cheerful older woman named Marcia, started the physical examination of Ruby's healing wounds.

That had been the main reason for his decision to start her on Propofol, the sedative. Yes, she had needed to be intubated, both in the mouth and the nose, to help her with breathing and feeding, respectively. But it was far better for her many wounds to have a chance to get a good start on the healing process while she was as still as possible, so that she might not agitate her injuries, prolonging the healing process. Additionally, if she was sedated, she wouldn't have to go through as much pain. Had she not been sedated, she would have been in agony, prompting the use of more pain-killers, which would likely have been opiates, leading to much higher chances of addiction. She would still need pain medicine, of course. But they could be taken in smaller quantities than if she had been awake the entire time. It was standard procedure to place her on antibiotics in a preemptive attempt to prevent infection, which was highly likely given her types of injuries, and some of them were hard enough on the body.

He gently peeled back the bandage covering the burns on her face. That had been a loss, when her skin grafts hadn't taken. She would always bear these scars, always be disfigured. If her right eyelids hadn't been burned away, she may have been able to use a fake eye, but the extent of the burns had been too great. The burns themselves were healing quickly enough, and he was grateful that her Aura was as strong as it was. She'd heal twice as fast as the average person.

Still, it took an individual with a strong stomach to look at the wounds. The skin was uniformly shiny, but that was merely because of the ointments they were using to aid the healing process and fight infection. The coloration was what was disconcerting, never mind the residual smell of well-done meat. They had cut away the dead skin that would never heal, but what was left was burnt reds, bloodless whites, and pussy, leaking yellows, though some of the lesser burnt skin on the outside of the injured areas was turning brown, the color of poorly cured and treated leather. It seemed to alternate between bubbled and tightly drawn, and she'd likely have some difficulty in regaining full range of motion with that side of her mouth and her neck, as well as her right shoulder and what was left of that arm, judging by the burns extending from her neck down across that shoulder and part of her upper back. Thankfully the burns there weren't as bad, and were well on their way to healing.

The amputation site was doing fantastically, all things considered, and earlier CT scans had revealed that the internal sutures had all healed with no issue, and her white blood cell count was well within the norm. All-in-all, she was well on the way to the road of recovery, he joyfully shared with Marcia as they set about replacing the many dressings with fresh, clean ones. The nursing assistants would have to come in after them and do a little bit of cleaning up, but both the urinary catheter and rectal tube were doing their jobs, drastically reducing the need for clean up, which reduced the amount of agitation to the wounds. Which is exactly what he wanted.

His spirits were high as he put in the order to discontinue the Propofol. Her wounds had healed enough that she no longer needed to be sedated. Given her metabolism and her Aura, she would definitely have flushed the drug from her system by morning. Honestly, he told himself as he briskly walked through the wide, gleaming hall to his next patient, she would probably wake up sometime during the night. It was better that way. Disorientation was common, and she should be given the opportunity to find her bearings before her friends and family visited her. It would also allow the nurses to take out the NG tube and the tracheal tube with some privacy. He knew from experience that that was an unpleasant sensation, waking up, groggy and confused, only to find multiple tubes shoved down one's throat. Better for her to have that done long before her friends come…let her surprise them in the morning, awake and able to talk, gravelly though her voice might be, what with the burn damage and the minor trauma associated with intubation.

Now, his next patient…ah, yes! "Mrs. Rosenfeld, how are you? Still experiencing chest pain? Not to worry, I've looked over the test results…"

xxxXXXxxx

Atlas Interregional Aerodrome

Atlas, 15:41

Chad idly tapped his foot as he played another game of solitaire on his scroll. This was, quite honestly, the boring part of his shift. While frequent air patrols and advancements in airship design had made travel to the other kingdoms much safer, the preferred flights for civilians and even the less experienced Hunter teams were the ones that would reach their destinations prior to the setting of the sun. The last such flight had left a few hours ago, and any remaining flights for the day didn't have any civilian passengers. No, they carried freight, which was handled through a different terminal. Yes, they did have room for passengers, but nobody signed up for those seats, no matter what the discounts were. If a flight went down during the day, chances were that a rescue could be mounted before the Grimm could overwhelm the survivors. At night? The numbers were _much _less reassuring.

_Honestly, I didn't even know why they kept this shift open_, he grumbled to himself as he started a new game. It'd save money, after all, and the number of people trying to get a flight this late did not justify keeping him in this seat. Hell, the last two weeks, he hadn't had a single-

"Salutations!"

"Gah!" He jerked upright, banging his knee on the underside of his desk, heart lurching in his chest at the unexpected voice. Rubbing his knee, he looked up.

A girl who looked to be about sixteen smiled beamingly at him, green eyes bright with good humor. She blinked at his reaction, smile dimming. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I, uh, can I help you?" He was tempted to ask if she was looking for her parents, but figured that she might be a Huntress and could take offense to the question. And the last thing you wanted to do was piss of a Huntress or Hunter.

"Yes, I would like a flight to Vale, please!"

He refreshed his terminal. "Of course. Are you ordering ahead for a morning flight?"

"Nope! I would like a seat on the next flight, if possible. My friend from Vale was hurt, and I was unable to go there because I was working for my father!"

He blinked. She was very exuberant, but definitely had an air of innocence about her. "Are you sure? The flights are more dangerous at night."

"Don't you worry," she said. "I'm combat ready!" Then her smile changed, becoming softer and sadder, aimed more towards herself than at him. Maybe her words were an inside joke that she had shared with her hurt friend.

"Of course you are," he replied carefully. "May I see your ID and passport?"

"Absolutely!"

He accepted the documents with a smile, and glanced over them…did a double take…and then looked at them much more carefully. Everything was in order. In fact, everything was so in order, including her clearance level, that he knew that anyone hindering her without a very good reason would likely be out of a job. "Right. The next flight is leaving at 16:30. Here are your tickets and your documents. The flight should be arriving in Vale around 2:30 in the morning. Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank you. Have a good day!"

"And have a good flight," he replied, watching her as she strode towards security and boarding, orange hair bobbing with each energetic step. _Well…_that_ was certainly interesting._ Shrugging, he went back to his scroll and the waiting game of solitaire. Hopefully her friend was okay.

xxxXXXxxx

SDC Interrogation Building

Outskirts of Vale, 0227

Blake leaned against Bagheera, staring aimlessly out into the farmland that stretched into the distance, with Vale a line of shimmering lights on the horizon. She glanced at her watch, and sighed heavily. Velvet was extremely late. They had agreed to meet at nine in the evening, but Velvet hadn't made that time, and half-an-hour after they were supposed to meet she sent a text saying that she was going to be late, but that she was definitely going to come out that night. The text had been a relief…Blake's imagination had run away from her as the minutes had continued to crawl by, and she had worried that the Crimson Claw had somehow managed to capture Velvet in retaliation for Vern's abduction. But now, almost six hours after they were supposed to meet, she was feeling angry.

There. Headlights on the road leading here. A motorcycle, which was in keeping with what she was expecting. Sure enough, the distant rumble grew louder and louder, and Blake threw her arm up to shield her eyes as Velvet pulled her cruiser into the small parking lot. "You're late," Blake called out by way of greeting as Velvet swung off of her bike, taking off her helmet and unzipping her brown leather jacket.

"Sorry, I was a bit predisposed. Our last mission against the Grimm got a bit…messy, and we had a lot of paperwork to do." Velvet's accented voice, normally warm and friendly, was now cold and brusque. "Right, let's bloody get this over with."

They walked side by side, boots crunching in the gravel, and Blake opened the door for her. "I appreciate your help in this matter," she said, and Velvet shot a glare at her.

"I'm only doing this for Ruby, you know," she snapped. "If it wasn't for her, I'd be telling you to go sod off. Frankly, I'm surprised you're willing to go along with this. I know you're loyal to her, but I never thought you'd be willing to torture a Faunus for a human."

Blake paused at that. "You think that Weiss is in charge of this?"

"Well, yeah. Of course I do. As much as she spouts goody-two-shoe prose about how the Faunus and humans need to work together, she _is_ still her father's daughter."

Blake frowned. "Weiss has no idea about this. She doesn't even know that this building exists."

Velvet stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the dimly lit corridor, folding her arms across her chest. "You mean you're doing this on your own?" she asked, lip curling back in disgust. "You've got to be fucking me."

Blake sneered back at her, even as the hair at the back of her neck stood on end. Velvet was very powerful, and her senior in skill. She might be able to win if this came to blows, but it would largely be due to luck. And if the rest of Team CFVY caught wind…it would be very bad. "Despite what you think, Weiss truly does believe in what she says. She's actually working with the White Fang to build a better future."

Velvet stared at her for a long moment, dark eyes unreadable. But finally she spoke. "If I do this for you, you need to tell Weiss. If you don't, I will. This is sick."

"Yes, it is. But it's also necessary."

"If you believe that, then the White Fang twisted you more than we thought."

Blake scoffed. "Sometimes the good guys need someone to do the dirty work for them, do what's hard, but necessary."

Velvet uncrossed her arms, one hand coming to a rest casually on the chest that was slung over her shoulder. Blake flicked her eyes to the case, and then back to Velvet's face as she fought the urge to reach for Gambol Shroud. That could be taken as a sign of aggression, lead to something that neither of them wanted. "Maybe," Velvet agreed, voice soft, focused, _deadly_. "Maybe, if you're talking about killing someone evil, rather than let them live. Or maybe attacking an enemy preemptively, or resorting to dirty tricks to beat an enemy during a fight. But torture?" The hand on her case tightened to a fist as her eyes narrowed. "That's _never_ justified."

"Ha! Don't make me laugh!" Blake countered as she bared her teeth at Velvet. "This isn't torture, this is interrogation. What Yang did to him during his capture? That was worse than anything her endured here. Vern is only going through desensitization, and soon you will give him kindness." She shook her head, eyes narrowed. "This isn't torture, Velvet. You know as well as I do what torture is like. Or was I alone in enduring the abuse of humanity?"

Velvet chose not to answer, though a muscle in her jaw twitched.

"I wasn't alone in being held down by humans while they threatened to cut off my ears, laughing jeeringly the entire time, was I? I wasn't alone in enduring the slurs _every day_ while merely walking down the street, _was I_?! I wasn't alone in being _beat just because I was a fucking Faunus, WAS I?!_" With each passing sentence, her voice grew more and more hysteric, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as she remembered all the pain, all the fear, all the hatred that she had had to endure growing up. She stopped, noticing pain in her palm. She looked down at her hand, where her nails had dug into her skin, blood slowly trickling from the crescent moon punctures. Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced herself to take many deep, calming breaths before she continued. "No, Velvet, this isn't torture. I know torture, but it wasn't the White Fang that taught me."

Velvet closed her eyes for a moment, pain rippling briefly over her face before she gave a short, curt nod and held out one arm, the gesture a silent 'lead me onwards.' Blake nodded, feeling a sickness in her heart as she did as Velvet asked, leading her to Vern's room. "Open it," she said into one of the house's radios, and the door clicked as it unlocked, the lights in the room flickering on as Blake pushed the door open. Velvet shot her a look of disgust as she stepped into the room, going to the Faunus huddled in the corner. She murmured something to him that Blake couldn't catch as she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Vern gave a short, anguished sob as he jerked up, threw his arms around Velvet's midriff, and latched onto her desperately.

The next few minutes were spent wordless, Vern's gasps of relief and Velvet's soft murmurs and coos of comfort the only noise. But finally he calmed down, and began to speak haltingly, voice hoarse. "I know…precisely…what you're doing…" he rasped into Velvet's stomach as she locked hard, angry eyes on Blake, all the while stroking Vern's back comfortingly. Blake saw the blame and disgust in Velvet's eyes, acknowledged it, and let it pass by as she kept her face emotionless. "I…don't…care."

"We need your help, Vern," Velvet said softly, and Vern laughed, madness barely held at bay.

"You think…I give a shit…about the Crimson Claw? Those…bloodthirsty…animals? Thought I didn't listen, thought I didn't know…but Vern _knows_ how to listen…how to survive! All of their secret plans…that they thought I didn't know about! Oh, I'll help you, just don't leave me alone, please!" With each passing word, his voice gained strength, even as madness drew ever closer. And Blake knew that she was to blame. But Velvet's eyes wouldn't let her look away.

"What secret plans?" Velvet asked gently.

"An attack on the hospital, using a well-trained group that used to be in the Atlas military." At his words, Blake's blood ran cold.

"What attack?" she snapped as she stepped further into the room. "When?!"

Vern turned away from Velvet for the first time, looking up at Blake with haunted eyes set in a tortured face. "Thursday the seventeenth, just after three in the morning." Then his mouth turned up in a tremulous smile as a mad giggle spilled from his lips. "What day is it, Belladonna? _What day is it_?!"

"Stay with him!" she barked at Velvet even as she spun and sprinted for the door, hand going to her scroll. 2:53. _Fuck!_ She desperately dialed the emergency line to the police, agonizing at the two…three rings before her call was answered by a cool and professional voice.

"999, this is Susan, what is your emergency?"

"Sarah, this is Blake Belladonna, Chief of Security with the Schnee Dust Company, I have information regarding an attack on the Vale Memorial Hospital that is going to occur at any time! You need to warn the hospital and get everything you have available to the hospital ten minutes ago, do you understand?"

There was a brief pause, and Blake grit her teeth as she threw open Bagheera's door, slid in, and turned the car on. She tossed the phone onto the passenger seat as the call was automatically transferred to the car's system. Finally Sarah answered. "Yes, ma'am, the information was forwarded, and we're sending units to the hospital now, but it may be some time before we can get there in force."

"Good, I'm coming from the southern outskirts of Vale, and I'm going to be coming fast. If you can have traffic units clear the way, that'd be much appreciated."

"We'll see what we can do."

"Thanks." She ended the call, slammed Bagheera into gear, and roared out onto the road, dust billowing into the night air behind the car as she pushed it to its very limits. "Call Yang," she called out over the sound of the howling engine. This call took longer, ringing six times before Yang answered, loud music in the background.

"Yo, Blake, what's up? You know I'm at work, right?" Yang asked before cheerfully yelling at her patrons, telling them to shut up. "I'm surprised you're still awake, you-"

"Yang, this is an emergency, Ruby is in trouble!"

The music cut off in the background, and Blake winced as Yang roared out a command for _everyone to shut the fuck up!_ loud enough that it caused feedback on her phone. But it was effective, silence suddenly coming from Yang's end. "Go." Yang's voice was charged, focused.

"Attack on Vale Memorial, can happen at any minute, don't know the fine details, but it's going to be a small force of ex-Atlas military, likely well-trained. You need to get Weiss caught up and get over to the hospital _right now_! I'm driving, but it'll be another twenty minutes before I can get there."

"Done. Drive safe, see you when you get here." The call disconnected, and Blake popped the e-brake, sliding around a curve, fear heavy in her throat. _God, please let me make it in time_!

The speeds that she would reach on that drive would make her previous joy-ride seem positively slow and sedate.

xxxXXXxxx

Airspace above Vale Memorial Hospital

Vale, 0305

"We will be on the landing pad at 0330, and will wait there for exactly one minute before departing, with or without you, do you understand?" the pilot's voice crackled through their ear pieces, tone brooking no argument, and the strike force members in the Bullhead's red lit cargo bay looked at one another, finding strength and determination in one another.

"That's an affirmative," Abraham replied into the handless mic, and the cargo ramp to the Bullhead opened, revealing the dark night's sky.

"Good luck," the loadmaster shouted, and the red light turned green. The eight of them ran out into the sky, letting gravity take them, and Abraham looked to his left, seeing the remaining eight Faunus of his force jumping out of the back of the second Bullhead on this mission. They could all fit in one, and would, at the end of this mission, as only one of the Bullheads would land, the other providing close air support.

"All members, sound off," he called into the full-faced oxygen mask. "Alpha one, made the jump." The other members all called in as they free fell towards the tall building that was their objective. Twenty stories tall, with their target on the fifteenth floor. "Remember, rules of engagement are to engage only those threatening our mission. We're professionals, not murderers." He glanced at the altimeter strapped to his wrist. "Pop chutes!" He pulled his rip cord, and his chute deployed with a jerk.

In between gathering his risers to direct his fall and a quick check to make sure he had all his equipment, he took a moment to admire the beauty of Vale at night, the glittering lights working well with the classical architecture. He felt a pang of regret, knowing that the Faunus _deserved_ a kingdom as grand as Vale, but they had always been denied it because of humanity's greed and hatred.

He also noticed that the hospital's roof was clear of any hostiles, and that there were a _lot_ of police cars all over the kingdom driving towards the hospital, red and blue lights flashing in the darkness, their sirens just barely audible over the great distance.

And then his view was cut off by the rapidly approaching roof, and he pulled the risers just so, nearly stalling his descent, letting him step onto the roof as gently as if he were stepping off a staircase, the other members of the force doing the same thing, save for Bravo Team. The other assault team had deliberately missed the roof and would instead descend to street level in the back of the hospital complex, giving them closer access to their objective. They would radio when they were set, he told himself as he slapped his release harness and gathered up his chute. "Secure the roof!"

xxxXXXxxx

Bravo Team, 03:09

They slid through the air, and Michael was glad that the air conditions were optimal. Barely any wind, and without rain. He glanced in the windows that they were descending past, but most of them were dark, their residents asleep. _Not for much longer, likely_, he told himself as he reached up with one hand, pulling down the night vision device attached to his helmet. Yes, they could see in the dark, but this was a thermal sight, which was something that most Faunus lacked. He carefully scanned the maintenance courtyard that they were headed for. It had a narrow access road leading to the highway, but that was it. "LZ clear," he called out into his radio. Moments later, they were on the ground, soft landings save for Ryan, who rolled as he hit before flashing an okay sign. "Insertion complete," he radioed to Abraham. He received one squelch in return, the affirmative signal. They quickly gathered up their chutes, stuffing them in the convenient dumpsters.

Just in time, too. "Cover!" someone hissed, and they dove behind the dumpster and the stairway next to the loading bay as a cop car drove by, flashing its searchlight into the alley. It didn't stop, and Michael released a relieved breath. They would have been able to deal with it, but every moment that they avoided hard contact, the better.

"Stack up on me." The rest was training, stacking up outside the door, using the key card that their contact inside the hospital had gotten for them the day before from a maintenance worker who had yesterday and today off. The door opened without an issue, and they cleared the landing of the stairwell waiting beyond. "Alright, let's go."

One of the reasons that they had chosen now of all times to hit the hospital was that this early in the morning, only a skeleton staff remained working. Though they kept their weapons at the ready as they went down the stairs into the basement, they didn't encounter anyone. "Left here…right at the T intersection. Alright, this is our door." He, Ryan, and Kendrick faced out, aiming down the concrete corridor as Lucas set the small breaching charge on the door handle.

"Set!"

They returned to the T intersection, and Michael peered through the sights on his Personal Defense Weapon, a blocky little weapon that fired small rounds with a lot of powder behind them. Good for defeating body armor, and enough rounds could definitely get the attention of even experienced Hunters. Not their secret weapon, Ryan had that slung on his back, but their P40s would get the job done. Certainly did better than the police standard issue submachine gun. "Fire in the hole!" Lucas called out softly, repeating the phrase twice more before hitting the detonator.

It wasn't much explosive, just enough to bust the door. Anyone not on this floor wouldn't even hear it. Still, it seemed loud as hell to them as they returned to the doors that were now missing their handles and locks. They opened easily enough. Michael and Ryan stood guard at the door as Lucas and Kendrick disappeared into the labyrinth of the Mechanical and Power Center. Fancy way of saying 'if you want to make the building go dark, hit here.'

"Vic, you down there? What the hell was that noise?"

At the voice calling from the way they came, both Michael and Ryan brought their weapons to the high ready. The security guard who came around the corner didn't stand a chance, and Michael didn't hesitate to put a three round burst into the man's chest, suppressor muffling the gunshots. Michael felt a brief pang of remorse as the man collapsed, look of horror on his face, but it was a fleeting feeling. They had a job to do.

Lucas and Kendrick rejoined them. "It's set."

"Blow it."

Once more, Lucas hit a detonator, and there was a muffled thump from deep within the room at their backs. Immediately, they were plunged into darkness.

xxxXXXxxx

Sierra Team Leader, 03:10

"Insertion complete," Michael reported over the radio, and Sarah watched as Abraham hit his PTT button twice.

"Lot of cop cars headed our way," she pointed out, and Abraham shrugged.

"Doesn't make much of a difference. Maybe if they had started coming thirty minutes ago, but now it's too late. Will your teams be good?"

She nodded absent-mindedly, already scanning the roof for good spots to set up. Besides the massive AC units and heating ducts and various maintenance doors, the hospital had been built with classic architecture in mind. As such, there were multiple spires and towers that served little purpose other than satisfy artistic sensibilities, and the walls had crenellated facades. A sniper's dream.

"Good. Keep them occupied, and stay safe," he said as he clasped her shoulder briefly before gathering his and James' teams and heading for the door that would lead them to the ICU the quickest.

Looking after them, she unslung the heavy antimaterial rifle from her shoulder, attaching it with a clip to her plate carrier. "We can do that," she murmured quietly, almost to herself as she quickly chambered one of the custom made .50 caliber rounds. Louder now, she called out to the other three snipers. "Henry, you've got the west, Ira, you have east, Evan, the south, and I've got the north. Remember, we don't have to stop them, just slow them down for a bit. Don't do anything stupid, and if you've got too many targets to handle, call for help. Move."

The moment the other three turned and began to bound off, she did the same. The north road was the one that offered the easiest approach, of course. She took it not only because she was the best shot, but the highest chance for danger would come from here. She fully expected to have one of the others come and join her before the end.

With a grunt, she jumped over a rooftop AC unit, pausing in the shadow of one of the towers as she peered over the edge of the wall and down at the city streets far below, getting her bearing. Just like she expected, she was far above a T intersection, with the top of the T lying flush against the hospital and running east and west, and the body stretching away from her to the north. She commanded an excellent view. She leaned out more carefully and looked straight down. There were already two police cars parked at the main entrance, but another one was approaching fast from the north, its lights flashing.

"Damn!" she hissed to herself as she eyeballed the range…half a mile? She knew they'd be coming fast and thick, but she wanted at least a little more time to set up. She braced herself against the crenellated wall, leaning out as far as she dared, ignoring the long drop to the city streets below as she acquired a shooting solution and snapped off a quick shot, ignoring the heavy kick to her shoulder, eyes squinting at the fireball the blossomed at the end of her rifle's barrel, the report loud enough to wake the dead.

If she had been aiming at the driver, she would have taken longer to aim, but her mission was to slow them down…and the explosive bullet hitting and then detonating against the car's engine block did just that, and rather spectacularly. It swerved into some cars parked into the side of the road with a crunch that echoed up to her position. She ducked back as she heard a shot from Evan's side of the building. She hoped that the police would get the bloody hint and not send too many more against them. They just needed a little time, is all.

Speaking of time, now that she had some, she could at least secure her position a bit. She pulled out the fifty feet of rope she had in a drop bag as she shoved against one of the crenellations as hard as she could. It didn't budge. Good. A few minutes later, and she had a loop thrown over the crenellation and was secured to it using a few simple but sturdy knots and a climber's carabiner that could hold five hundred pounds. She could release herself in a matter of seconds, but should she fall, she wouldn't fall to her death.

Thus secured, she leaned out once more. Great, two cars travelling together from the east. She grimaced as she aimed down the street. Maybe the message she was sending had to be of a more permanent nature. She took in a deep breath, let half of it out, gently squeezed the trigger, shifted left through the recoil, exhaled completely as she found her next sight picture, and fired again, brass shell casing spinning into the air. The first round cracked through the lead car's windshield, the time delay fuse going off right when the round was probably in between the driver and passenger, and she could see through her scope as she lined up for an unnecessary second shot the blood that had sprayed against the windshield that had spider-webbed with the round. They might be alive, but it wasn't likely. The second car's occupants had fared a little better, though the car hadn't. She had placed the round through the right headlight, and the round blew off the tire, sending the car careening into a building. She rested her scope on the car, contemplating sending another round its way, but her finger came off the trigger as the door creaked open and a bloodied cop spilled out of it and collapsed on the ground. Out of the fight for now.

She leaned over the wall, peering down at the lead car as it continued onward, propelled by its own inertia and little else. She winced as it ran a red light and was t-boned by a delivery truck that couldn't stop in time. The cops were almost certainly dead now. "Come on, you idiots!" she snapped into the warm summer air, a bead of sweat running down her cheek. "Stop traffic, and stop coming!" Movement caught her eye to the north as a cop car emerged from one of the cross streets that way, screeching to a halt next to the first car she had taken out. She licked her dry lips as she brought her rifle to bear. "Get them and get out, please!"

But they didn't follow her unheard plea, one of the cops from the first car pointing up at her general direction, and a cop from the new car pulled out an assault rifle that had some sort of low powered telescopic sight on it and aimed up towards her. He probably couldn't even see her, but she couldn't take the chance. Heart heavy, she aimed carefully, and rewarded his zeal with a round to the chest. The resulting explosion and its aftermath would stay in her mind for a long, long time.

xxxXXXxxx

Alpha Team Leader, 03:10

Abraham lead them through the door and down the stairs, the faint jostling of their equipment, the tread of their boots on the steps and their breathing the only noise as they continued down, down, down, him counting under his breath as they passed each floor. They reached the fifteenth floor without incident, and he quickly checked the map of the floor as they stacked up on the door exiting the stairway. By now, word had to have spread to the hospital that there was an attack. Their only advantage lay in that the hospital's security staff didn't know where the attack was going to come from. Still, it was going to get loud.

Taking a calming breath, he reached back with his left hand, tapping the Faunus behind him as a sign that he was ready, weapon held at the high ready in the off chance that someone were to come into the stairwell unexpectedly. No one did, and the last man in the line came up, quickly checked for traps, gently twisted the doorknob, and quickly pulled the door open. It was all violence of action after that. This door let out onto the floor at the end of a hallway, greatly diminishing the directions that a threat could come from, but if someone was set up right, they could wipe the entire team. But one couldn't think about the hail of bullets that might be waiting for them. One _had_ to push through quickly and decisively, or the entire attack could falter and fail. As such, Abraham's mind was clear as he pushed through the open doorway and hooked hard to the left…only to come nearly face-to-face with a man holding something in his right hand.

His reaction was reflex…center the laser sight on the target's chest, and fire. The young man died with a look of horror on his face, cup of water spilling from his hand as he collapsed against the wall, smearing blood against the white surface. "Fuck!" Abraham snarled bitterly before training took over once more. "One up!"

"Two up!"

"Three up!"

"Four up!"

"Fuck!" Abraham snapped again even as he scanned for new targets. The Crimson Claw wouldn't care that he just killed a civilian, but he was still a professional soldier at heart, and it had been beat into him that defenseless civilians were not to be targeted. "James, set up the trap in the stairs, and get out here."

The four members of the heavy weapons and demolition team emerged from the stairwell, James giving a curious glance at the cadaver that was now leaking blood into an ever growing pool. "It's set."

At his words, the overhead lights died, emergency strip lighting along the edges of the corridor flashing on with a dim glow. "Seems like our friends in the basement are doing well. Let's go." They set off, Abraham carefully stepping over the man he had killed, boots sticking slightly in the blood puddle. There were alarmed shouts ahead of them, he had to remain focused. "Corridor right," he called out behind him as he took a knee at it, aiming down the wide expanse, eyes seeing through the gloom. "Clear."

However, as the third member of his force started to make the quick crossing, two figures rounded the corner twenty meters down, and his eyes picked out the security uniform of the hospital easy enough. "Hold!" one of them shouted as the other drew a pistol and aimed at them.

Cursing again, Abraham fired two more bursts, but the one armed with the pistol didn't die, though he went down hard, behind his partner, gaining some cover. He managed to fire twice, pistol reports loud in the enclosed space as the shots went wild, and Abraham stood, took a bead, and fired again. "We're loud, gentlemen!"

Luckily they didn't have much farther to go, and didn't encounter anyone on the way. They came around the corner leading to the ICU entrance, and Abraham had to fight the urge to sigh with relief at the sight of the double doors. "Breach and clear, explosive entry," he ordered as he glanced at his watch. 03:16. Fourteen minutes until they had to be on the roof. Cutting it close. "Prep the anti-Hunter weapon, they'll be waiting for us." Pat nodded, pulling the heavy weapon off of his back, and doing what little assembly remained as James' team moved up.

They knew what they were doing. Yuki moved quickly, placing an adhesive foil tape with a det cord on the inside of it in a broad X that crisscrossed the door as Rose stood by with the explosive plate set on the end of a spring-loaded pole. Set off the det cord, it weakened the door and set off the plastic explosives in the plate, thus blowing the door down. Yuki backed off, giving a thumbs up as Rose pressed the plate firmly against the center of the door, the pole clicking silently twice before she placed the no-skid base against the floor. Abraham watched as Yuki's calm, sure fingers peeled back a portion of the tape at one corner of the door, exposing a short length of det cord that he attached to a wireless detonator. Once done, the demolition expert lead them back around the corner, looking for Abraham for the final order.

Abraham nodded. "Do it."

Yuki lifted the transmitter, and pressed the button.

Bravo Team Leader, 03:18

Michael and his team waited in the shadows of the corridor, listening to the group ahead of them arguing. The small group of cops and the security staff were disagreeing with what to do now, the cops arguing that they had to wait for back up that couldn't get to them because of snipers on the roof, the security guards countering that some of their people on the fifteenth floor weren't answering their radios, and that they had to do something, _now_! Michael glanced back at his team. Well, time to render the argument invalid.

It was astounding how close they got to the group huddled around the security admin center before they were noticed. One of the cops glanced up, her eyes widening in shock as she noticed them approaching. "Holy-!" she started as her hand went for her sidearm, but whatever word was going to follow would never be said, Lucas's bullets catching her in the mouth and neck, and the rest of the group suffered similar fates as Michael of his team gunned them down.

"Alright, let's move," he said, and as they drew away from the room, he tossed a grenade into it. Might not blow all the monitors and radios, but it'd get some of them, he told himself as the grenade detonated. Right, so they had to pass an admissions desk for prompt care on the way to the staircase that would get them to the roof, and he hoped the staff members there were smart enough to disappear. "Stay frosty," he warned, and just in time, as someone leaned around the corner up by the admissions desk, firing a pistol at them. The bullets cracked by them, and he heard a grunt of pain behind him as he and Kendrick dropped the target.

Fearing the worst, he glanced back, but Ryan only shook his head, hand wrapped around his upper arm. "Just a scratch," he assured him, and Michael nodded.

"Right, let's go." As they approached the desk, he heard movement behind it, and he brought his weapon up as he came up on it, Kendrick doing the same at his side. But it was just a nurse who had dragged the man who had shot at them behind the desk, trying to slow the bleeding from the bullet wounds in the man's chest. A futile effort, but let the human try. "Okay," he started as he turned away from the two. "We need to turn left at-"

"Sir, look out!" A burst of suppressed weapons fire, and Michael jerked back in shock as the nurse collapsed across the chest of the man that she was trying to save, guard's pistol dropping out of her bloody hand.

Michael could only stare for a moment before the indignant rage arrived. "What the fuck?!" he shouted at the dead woman. "We weren't going to kill you! You could still be alive, you stupid bitch!"

Before he could say anything else, another unexpected thing happened. The PA crackled to life, and a scared female voice echoed throughout the corridors tremulously. "A-all hospital s-staff and p-patients, there a-are a-armed intruders in the ho-hospital. P-please stay i-in your rooms until th-the p-police come, thank you." He frowned, hopped over the desk, strode around a large filing cabinet, and looked down at the young woman sitting on the floor, who was holding a phone in one trembling hand as she looked up to him with wide, terrified eyes. He sighed heavily in exasperation, bent over, and pressed the switch hook.

"Are you g-going to kill me?" she gasped out, entire body shaking with terror.

He shook his head. "It would be a shame to kill someone who isn't trying to hurt me, and who is trying to keep as many safe as possible. You've done your job well, miss. Now, keep your head down, understand?" She nodded. "Good."

"Sir, we have a problem!" Kendrick shouted just as Lucas roared out a command to halt. Shooting the scared girl one more glance, Michael ran around the filing cabinet…to see a young girl with green eyes and orange hair. What the hell?

She tilted her head at them, frowning thoughtfully. "Are you friends?" she asked as she continued to walk towards them.

"I said _stop_, dammit!" Lucas shouted as he brought up his P40.

The girl stopped, looking from the weapon to Lucas and the rest of the team with no fear. Why wasn't she afraid? Was she…? Oh, God, she was a Huntress! "No, you are most certainly not friends!" she said, face going from curious to determined as swords, fucking _swords_ floated into the air behind her.

"Huntress, drop her!"

But before they could fire, eight of the swords formed a circle in front of her, spinning rapidly as his team opened fire, blocking the bullets. "Fall back!" Michael ordered, but not quickly enough. The swords in front of her still spinning, she launched four more over her shoulder at Lucas. Michael watched in horror as the blades effortlessly cut through Lucas's Aura and body armor, skewering him instantly as they picked him up and slammed him into a wall. The blades returned to their master, and Michael turned to face her as Ryan and Kendrick stopped firing. They couldn't win.

The blades in front of her stopped spinning, and she strode towards them with all the deliberateness of the tide as her swords gathered in the air behind her, arranged loosely in the shape of wings. That, coupled with how her eyes flashed in the darkness, gave her the appearance of an angel of vengeance, and Michael knew true fear. He was going to die. Unless…

He threw up a hand. "Stop, please!" Perhaps it was the last word that did it, but the girl stopped her inexorable advance forwards. "There is a girl at the admissions desk, and she needs your help. If you go to help her right now, I give you my word that my men won't fight anymore tonight. We just want to leave with our fallen brother."

She stared at them, head tilted and face inscrutable. Then, without warning, three of her swords flashed forward, and Michael flinched, expecting to die. But there was the crack of metal against plastic as the swords flew back to their mistress, and Michael looked down as his P40 fell in half, Ryan's and Kendrick's weapons suffering the same fight. "You are right, you _won't_ fight anymore tonight. Get out of my sight," she said as she turned towards the admissions desk.

Michael let out a breath of relief as he ran towards Lucas, fearing the worst. Even a quick glance confirmed his fears. Lucas was definitely dead; his lungs, spine, and heart had been the target of the swords. _I will grieve later_, Michael told himself as he bodily pulled his friend's limp corpse up, Ryan and Kendrick helping him getting Lucas on his shoulders, warm blood spilling down his back. "Let's go!"

Hopefully everyone else was doing better.

xxxXXXxxx

Alpha Team Leader, 03:18

The explosion tore through the silence, a cloud of dust and smoke billowing towards them. "Move, move, move!" Abraham ordered, and they came around the corner…and into a hail of bullets coming from a single figure standing in the middle of the hallway, obscured by the dust and smoke. "Hunter! Get back!" They quickly backpedalled, getting behind cover, rounds hissing and snapping around them.

James dropped to the ground at the corridor intersection, gaining some cover as he got behind his LMG. "Covering!" he shouted before opening up with a long burst, the rounds tearing through the air. But, just as he expected, they didn't deter the Hunter, who focused his attack on James, the floor and wall shattering as bullets thudded around him.

"Pat!"

In the long war against the Grimm, it was well known that Huntsmen and Huntresses were the best weapon to be used against them. But there were always situations in which they weren't available, and those without the special training that Hunters got had to defend themselves. Small arms worked well against the lesser of the Grimm, but the larger creatures like the Nevermore and the Death Stalker and the Goliath…they needed more. And so, Atlas developed a weapon that the average man could use against even the largest of Grimm and face a better chance of survival. An unexpected side-effect was that said weapon also worked very well against Hunters.

Pat leaned around the corner, the 20mm Man-Portable Antimaterial Cannon held snugly on his shoulder. It was a strange design, the MANPAC was, but it worked. It was a bullpup, with the thick, heavy magazine behind the trigger and pistol grip. But what made it so successful, what allowed a man to fire a cannon round was the special recoil action. The barrel was designed to drive back. With most weapons, that meant driving back into the buttstock and thus, against the shooter's shoulder. With the MANPAC, the barrel and it's impressive, heavy duty buffer spring ran in a straight line over the shooter's shoulder. It still kicked as bad as any .50 caliber rifle, but a lot of the recoil was distributed in the barrel rocking back, the buffer spring, and a specially designed muzzle brake, and what remained was focused over and behind the shooter's shoulder. The muzzle climb was horrendous, but that was a small price to pay for being able to really put down a target.

"Firing!" Pat shouted, and Abraham clapped his hands over his dog ears, knowing what was coming. Pat fired, rocking back with the shot, and a massive fireball erupted into the dim corridor, windows shattering along the hallway. The sound was deafeningly loud even through his hands, and Abraham winced at it. There was a flare of blue light as whatever shields the Huntsman had set tried to resist the cannon round, but it was a futile effort. Abraham couldn't see the result of the shot clearly because of the dust, but the Huntsman dropped heavily.

"Xavier!" The cry was pure anguish, and a tall, willowy figure came out of a side room, sliding to a halt next to the fallen Huntsman.

"The other Hunter, quick-!"

But before Pat could aim and fire again, the Huntress shot up, tucking a violin under her chin and bringing a bow to bear. _A violin? What's she going to-_

She drew the bow across the strings, and the eight of them screamed in agony, stumbling back at the sounds that emanated from the instrument. Her face a rictus of rage and hatred, she started towards them, still playing that one horrible, terrible note, the paint peeling from the walls and the floor starting to crack. She was shouting something, but he couldn't hear, couldn't _think_ over that damned note!

It was James that saved them. Bellowing in pained anger, he somehow found his feet, and the Huntress pointed the violin at him, playing a different note that was somehow worse than the one before it, though that didn't seem possible. James staggered, shook his head, blood droplets splattering on the floor, and he took one…two…three steps forward. If she hadn't been so consumed by her emotions, the girl might have had the mind to fall back, but she stood her ground, playing her hellish song. But James didn't falter, got within striking range, and slammed down with his fist. The violin shattered under the blow, the song blessedly ending, and the girl was broken from her rage, staring up at the massive bull Faunus with shock. "How-?" she started, but James didn't let her finish, massive hand finding her throat and lifting her up into the air.

She struggled, clawing at his arms and kicking at his torso, yes, but it wasn't enough. James merely squeezed harder and harder until a crunch and a crack was heard, her trachea and spine going. She went completely lax, and James carefully laid her body next to her partner. "Well fought," he said into the resulting stillness before turning towards Abraham, and Abraham winced at the blood trickling from James' ears and nose. "Powerful little one, wasn't she? Time?"

"0322. We need to move." The target's room was just around the nursing station. Almost there, almost done.

xxxXXXxxx

Outside Vale Memorial, 03:17

Weiss practically threw herself out of her car, stumbling slightly as she moved up to where she could see Yang talking with a large group of cops. "What's happening, have we sent anyone in yet?" she demanded as she drew closer, twitching at the sound of a rifle shot on the other side of the building that lay between them and the hospital. "What was _that_?!"

The chief of police jerked his head towards the hospital. "Snipers, we think there's four of them. Our own sharpshooters are still on the way. I only got here so fast because I live close to here. Most of my officers are still waking up. We've lost contact with the personnel we've sent inside, and we think they're dead. So I've already lost at least six officers, and have three confirmed wounded."

Weiss waved him off. "I don't care. We can sort everything out after all of this. We need to get into that building."

"Easy for you to say!" he snapped. "You're a bloody Huntress! Most of my personnel aren't prepared for this…that's a bloody well trained and well equipped force in there, _killing my men_!"

Weiss paused, hearing the anguish in his voice. "Yes. You're right. I apologize. Yang, let's go."

Leaving the group of police, the two of them headed around the building towards the hospital. "Plan?" Yang asked as she cracked her knuckles.

"Cat-apult," Weiss answered as she rested her fingers on Myrtenaster's hilt.

"But Blake isn't here yet."

"I know!" Weiss snapped. "Do it with me. Throw me at the building. We know where Ruby's window is, I'll use my glyphs to get me there. I just need a boost."

"And the snipers?"

Weiss grinned. "Well, we'll just have to give them a moving target."

Yang grinned toothily back, and as one they darted around the corner as fast as they could, sprinting towards the hospital, keeping their paths random, unpredictable. Almost immediately, heavy rounds started to impact around them, and Weiss felt her heart pounding in her throat as she drew Myrtenaster. Right…about…_now_! "Set!" she cried out as she jumped up. Yang ran up underneath her, grabbed the bottom of her feet, and hurled her upwards. Weiss set a line of acceleration glyphs up the side of the building and started to run upwards, wind howling in her face, eyes fixed on Ruby's window. So focused was she, that she didn't notice the figure leaning out over the top of the building, large rifle trained on her, but the figured jerked back as Yang fired a barrage at the top of the building, giving Weiss cover.

And _now_! She cast a platform glyph parallel to and outside Ruby's window, and kicked off the wall, spinning in the air, landing feet first on the glyph before pushing off of it, crashing through Ruby's window…just as a figure clad in a dusty black assault suit and body armor opened the door. They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into action, the figure raising a blocky looking firearm while Weiss dashed forward. He fired a burst that flew harmlessly over her shoulder before crashing into Ruby's sink, and the Weiss was on.

The quarters were tight, so she was limited, and whoever this guy was, he had some skill. They came together in a flurry of blows, and at first they seemed to be on even footing, Weiss unable to maneuver enough to attack well, and he was unable to use his gun for anything but blocking her attacks. But then he left an opening, and she took it, Myrtenaster sliding past his defenses and into his shoulder. He cried out in pain as she withdrew the blade, preparing for the final blow, but he jumped back, out of the room, where seven more figures stood, aiming more of the blocky weapons at her.

Cursing, she threw up multiple shield glyphs as they opened fire, the rounds they were using unable to penetrate her shields. Then one of them knelt, pointing a large rifle at her, and she sneered. Even .50 caliber round couldn't penetrate all the shields she set up. But then she looked more carefully, saw its different shape, recognized what it was, and her heart plummeted. "Oh, no…" she whispered as the Faunus fired. She brought Myrtenaster up just in time, focusing a shield glyph at its tip as the round shattered all her other shields before impacting her last line of defense. It was strange that she could see her death in the shell that was digging against her barrier, rapidly draining her Aura. But she couldn't move…everything was focused in stopping the cannon round. Would her Aura last long enough to-

The shield shattered, and the shell snapped forward. "No!" she screamed as she gathered the very last vestiges of her Aura protectively around her just as the shell exploded against her right shoulder, throwing her backwards into a counter. Head swimming, she looked down at her tattered shoulder armor and the ruined flesh underneath. But, surprisingly, she could still flex the fingers on her right hand. She was still holding Myrtenaster. Even though she was at the cusp of unconsciousness, she could still fight, still protect Ruby, the one she cared about the most.

But to her surprise, the dark figures that swam in and out of her vision were running away. That didn't make any sense. Why would they run when they could still win?

"W-Weiss?"

The voice, hoarse though it was, was still recognizable. Weiss looked down at Ruby's bed, noticing for the first time that she didn't have tubes down her nose and throat. But more importantly, Ruby was looking up at her with a grey, heavy lidded eye.

Weiss gave a sob of relief, the pain of her wound catching up to her. "You're okay!" she cried as darkness surged up, swallowing her whole, dragging her into oblivion.

**AN: (Part 2) Normally don't need these, but I just wanted to clarify something. The MANPAC is based off the M82A2 Antimaterial Rifle that was developed by Barrett. I don't know if I described it well enough, so now you have something you can use to google search it. Thanks!**


	8. The Waking Nightmare

**AN: So, a good bit shorter than previous chapters, and out a little bit later than I'd have preferred, but c'est la vie. But Ruby! Yay, Ruby! She finally wakes up! Though, the world she finds upon waking up is drastically different than the world she remembers...**

**Read, enjoy, and please review!**

The Waking Nightmare

Ruby didn't know how many times she fluttered in and out of consciousness, but every time she did, she was distantly aware of the pain, like a monstrous storm on the horizon. She didn't feel it, but it was there, looming, threatening. She also wasn't sure what was a dream, and what wasn't, the lines between reality and the dreamscape melding. A nurse smiling reassuringly and talking to her about how well she was doing while drawing never ending tubes from her nose and throat turned into a Beowulf with a top hat that danced out the door before oblivion dragged her down again. She woke up again an untold eternity later, confused, disoriented, looking about a dark room that was empty, and though she tried to stay awake, she really did, after all, there was something important that she just couldn't remember…she slipped back under.

The next time she awoke, she could have sworn it was because of distant gunfire, explosions, and sounds of battle. This time she was aware of how heavy her entire body felt, and she had to struggle for an epoch to open her eyelids that felt like they weighed a ton…but she could only see out of her left eye. Why? However, the fact that she couldn't see out of her right eye paled in comparison with the fact that Weiss was standing over her in full battle gear, Myrtenaster held loosely in her left hand, her right shoulder bright red with blood, the leather and metal of her pauldron peeling away from the ugly wound…

…Why was her first thought that she had failed? Failed what? What was going on?! "W-Weiss?" she asked, wincing at how badly her throat hurt. Weiss cried something that didn't penetrate the muddled fog that suddenly came crashing down. This time, however, she fought the darkness with every fiber of her being. Her friend was in danger, she had to help! But the darkness continued to drag her down that pitch black tunnel that had gathered around the edges of her vision, almost mockingly. Your friend is in danger, but look how weak you are! You can't _even stay awake_! Despairingly, she fell under.

The next time she woke up, she knew that there was something incredibly important that she couldn't remember, but her last clear memory was of waiting for Weiss to get off of work so they could hang out. The hunt she was returning from had been long and tiring, but also fulfilling.

Wait.

What the…?

Why was she in a hospital room? Why couldn't she see out of her right eye? And why was she in so much _pain_?! For pain had come out of nowhere, loud and insistent, and she gave a coarse croak. She had a high pain tolerance…you _had_ to, to be a Huntress, but this…this was something else entirely! Her throat felt like she had swallowed broken glass, the right side of her face felt like it was on fire, except for a chilling lack of feeling around her right eye. The burning seemed to spread down to her right shoulder and back. Oh, God, someone please take it all away! She stifled a sob as the pain around her face and shoulder transformed into agony. She cried out, tears leaking from her left eye as the effort of the cry made her throat feel like it was being torn apart.

No! She would not let pain stop her! She was in a hospital, there had to be nurses and doctors who could help her. She grit her teeth, steeling herself for the added agony to come. "H-help!" she cried out. To her immense frustration, it came out as a hoarse, croaking whisper that, for all its lack in volume, still made her throat feel like a Beowulf was tearing into it. She stifled a sob that would do little more than bring more pain as she forced herself to calm down. She was in a hospital, there had to be a call bell or some other way to get a nurse's attention. _Mind over matter, girl_, she told herself as she carefully tilted her head to the left, the movement sending fresh jolts of excruciation down the right side of her face, as well as a bringing a feeling of intense physical exhaustion to come slamming down on her. A ghost of a memory of waking up and falling asleep came to her through the muddled fogs of her mind, and she instinctively knew that this was different. She didn't want to sleep, she wanted to collapse, give up, let the pain wash over her, take her away.

But she wouldn't. She was Ruby Rose, and she…would…not…give…UP!

There! Lying by her left hand. A long remote attached to a power cord, with a bunch of brightly colored buttons. But the one that caught her attention was the red one at the top that had a white symbol of a nurse's hat on it. Now she just had to push it.

Time ceased to have a meaning as she concentrated, sweat beading on her forehead as she slowly, painfully, torturously inched her fingers towards the remote, breath coming in short gasps that tore at her ragged throat. She knew not how many minutes she struggled, only that everything slipped into an eternity. And over the pain, the sweat, and the exhaustion, she desperately strove to remember what she could have done that would cause such pain, such exhaustion? She, who could swing Crescent Rose around with no effort at all, who had fought for hours against the creatures of darkness…what had happened to make it so that she could barely move her hand?!

Her calloused fingertips brushed cool plastic, and she had to fight the urge to sob in relief. She wasn't done yet, after all. Her fingers slowly crawled up the remote, and she finally, _finally_ reached that damned red button. Holding her breath, she called up the last reserves of her flagging strength, and pushed down. Funny how the slight click beneath her fingertip felt like the greatest reward she had ever received for anything she had ever done.

Through the exhaustion and the pain, she became aware of an electronic bell beginning to toll, and she concentrated on it, desperate for anything that would give a sense of time, that would banish the feeling of eternity that her pain was giving her. One toll…two tolls…three tolls…four-

The door opened, and a young woman in scrubs walked into the room. "Well, good morning!" she said, smile in her eyes. "My name is Sarai. We're glad to see you awake. What can I do for you?"

"H-hurts," she rasped, annoyance flickering through the agony. Couldn't she see she was in pain?!

"I'm a Nursing Aide, so I can't give you any medicine, but your nurse was just behind me."

As if cued in, a short, portly man entered the room, glasses reflecting the light of the room with a quick flash. "Ah, Miss Rose! Excellent to see you awake! My name is Tedd, and I'm your nurse for today!" he exclaimed as he moved up the right side of her bed and out of her sight. He did, however, continue to talk. "I'm just hanging some morphine to help you with that pain. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?"

"Ten," she forced out.

"Thought so." He reappeared, using a barcode reader to scan a bracelet around her wrist. "Okay, can I get your name and date of birth?"

"Ruby R-Rose…July the Third…2024," she ground out through a wince, tears collecting in her left eye.

"Excellent," he said as he drew medicine from a small vial into a syringe. "Now, I need to inform you that you may experience dizziness, nausea, vomiting, itchiness, a headache, or anxiety. It's perfectly normal to feel those things. If your breath gets shallow, if you feel like you're going to pass out, or if you develop chest pain or your heart starts to pound, you let me know, okay?"

Throat too painful to do anything else, she nodded and watched as he inserted the syringe's needle into a port branching off the side of the IV tubing leading into her left forearm. After he fully depressed the plunger of the syringe, he withdrew the needle before screwing another syringe onto the port, this one much larger. "I just gave the medicine, and I'm using this saline flush to push it into your veins. It'll take a few minutes, but you'll feel better soon. The doctor has been paged, and he should be here very soon to explain the situation to you."

She opened her mouth, steeling herself to speak again, when it hit her. A wave of warmth, unlike anything she had ever felt before, picking her up and taking her away from the pain. "Oh…oh, wow," she rasped, and felt the urge to cry with relief when her throat didn't feel like it was being torn apart. Well…no, it did, but it was all so distant. She blinked as she tried to categorize how she felt, the movement slow and sluggish. She was warm, and yes, she did feel dizzy, and there was a tinge of nausea at the edge of her awareness, but it was all okay. If everything stayed this warm and distant from the pain, it would be awesome! She sighed happily, eyes sliding shut. It felt like she could just float away. The pain was still there, though. But it was so _weird_! Yes, she hurt, but it's like it didn't matter. Oh, if she could stay like this forever, she'd be fine with that!

Oh. Her stomach itched. Her eye crept open, and she glanced down at her left hand, watching as it inched towards her blanket covered stomach, this time not slowed by pain, but by exhaustion and by how everything seemed to be going slower now. She didn't know how long it took, but her hand finally landed on her stomach, and her tongue poked out of her mouth in concentration as she carefully hooked her fingers and dragged them across the blankets, itching the skin underneath.

Oh.

Oh-ho-ho-ho-yeeeeah.

That?

That was _amazing_!

It was like she had an itch for years and years, but she could finally itch it. She wouldn't ever be able to fully describe just how amazing it was to scratch her stomach, but she knew that she would be perfectly happy to keep on scratching forever. She never wanted this warmth and this bliss of scratching to end. Never.

"Miss Rose?"

She looked up, startled. Oh, a new man. Dusky skin, silver at the hair at his temples, laugh lines around his eyes. "Hullo," she chirped, and she giggled. Her voice sounded more like it belonged to a frog than a bird.

"Hello," he smiled, and she noticed it was tinged with a deep sadness. He also looked terribly exhausted, bags under his eyes and his face set in a mask of weariness. She sobered, her instincts warning her that something bad was coming. "My name is Dr. Jabir al-Tabeeb, and I'm your primary doctor." He paused, glancing at a chart he was holding in his hands. "I need to talk to you about your condition and your plan of care."

She swallowed nervously, suddenly uneasy. This was going to be a hard pill to swallow. "Of course."

The doctor took a deep breath. "Seventeen days ago, you were involved in a terrorist attack launched by the Crimson Claw. Their target was Weiss Schnee, and it was likely only your actions that saved her life."

Ruby blinked, the sudden memory of fear, of a desire to protect, of sudden movement before a terrible blast brought excruciating pain echoed distantly, and she shuddered. But wait…what about? "Weiss!" she blurted. "Is Weiss okay?!"

"Yes, she only suffered minor injuries, and-"

"No…I remember now…I woke up in a hospital, and Weiss was standing over me, and…and her arm…it was hurt! What happened?!"

The doctor sighed, seemingly deflating right in front of her, shoulders sagging with grief. "Last night, the Crimson Claw launched a military style raid against this hospital using what seemed to be highly trained personnel. There were many casualties amongst police and security staff, and we had to close the floor you were on due to damages, and move you and all the other patients in the ICU to a different part of the hospital, but Miss Schnee survived the encounter. She did suffer an injury to her right shoulder, but it wasn't critical, and she went into surgery not too long ago."

Ruby slumped back into the bed with relief. Yes, Weiss had been hurt, but she was still alive. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Yes, of course. Now, about your condition…" and again, he paused, face showing a deep sadness. He opened his mouth, poised to say something, but then shut it again, obviously hesitant.

"Doctor?" she asked. "Is it about my eye?" She closed her left eye, trying to remember. There had been a burning and tearing to the right side of her body, hadn't there? "Did I lose it?"

"Yes." The answer was a tortured whisper.

Well. _Fuck_. Her mouth turned to ash as she realized she'd never see out of her right eye again. No! She rallied her spirits through sheer force of will. No, it was okay. There were plenty of Huntresses who had lost one of their eyes and were still able to do their job. It sucked, but if that was the price to be paid for protecting Weiss, than she'd be happy with it. "Okay. That's not too bad. I can-"

"That wasn't all."

"Huh?" she asked, heart sinking at the doctor's grim tone.

"You also suffered internal injuries caused by the overpressure of the blast, and we had to conduct an invasive surgery to close the wounds. The surgery was a complete success, and you didn't lose any functionality of your digestive system. However…the worst injury you suffered was to your right arm. You had a tearing amputation below the elbow, but there was also irreparable damage to the elbow itself. We performed a surgical amputation above the elbow. The amputation is healing well, but…Miss Rose?"

She was breathing too quickly, panicked bursts that rushed in and out, and she felt a crushing panic seize her. "But," she gasped, world tilting dangerously, "you can't…you aren't…"

"Miss Rose, I need you to slow your breathing, okay?"

She struggled to comply, mind shocked into terrible blankness. "No…" she whimpered, tears gathering in her left eye. "It can't…you have to be lying!"

That's right! Now that she could think about it, she could _feel_ her right hand and forearm! The sensation had been masked, overridden by her other pain, but it was _there_! She could feel the pins and needles sensation, like her hand had fallen asleep but was waking up. _The doctor was just playing a prank on me_! she told herself as tears ran down her face, and she turned her head to the right. Without her right eye, she hadn't been able to see most of the right side of her body, but turn her head far enough, and-

There was a loud ringing that drowned out the distant shouts and sound of running feet, and the world narrowed in on the stub that dominated the end of her upper arm. Someone was retching, and as liquid ran down her chin, she realized that she had thrown up, and that hands were pushing her back into the bed. She gurgled, coughed, and then there was a tube in her mouth, sucking at her tongue and her cheeks, slurping terribly at the remainder of her vomit that pooled at the back of her throat.

But she didn't care, staring up at the concerned, focused faces and the bright lights of the ceiling, letting the shock take her away. The ringing diminished slightly, and she heard a too-rapid beeping that she realized coincided with her hammering heartbeat, and she probably wasn't breathing well and wasn't she supposed to tell the portly nurse with glasses and wasn't his name Todd that she was having symptoms might be medicine tryna kill her and the world was fading away and she was never gonna be Huntress again.

Her arm was gone and she was never going to Hunt again.

These were her final thoughts before she gave in to the terrible yawning darkness than opened up before her, a sense of despair taking hold in her heart. What point was there in living if she couldn't be a hero?

Her arm was _gone_…


	9. Rising Tensions

**AN: So this chapter is a nice 4,040 words, a nice round number, I believe. Sorry I didn't get this out earlier, but there was unspeakable tragedy within the family that sapped all of my creativity for a good long while.**

**Anyway, in this chapter, you get to see some of the consequences of the Crimson Claw strike on the hospital. As a warning, there is a lot of swearing in this, as well as some racial slurs. The Prime Councilor's speech isn't all that great, I'll admit, but I was pretty tired when I wrote his words. My apologies. We also get to meet a new character, an OC. There'll be at least one more OC to be introduced later.**

**Thanks for all your support! The next chapter might take a bit, I'm going away on Army training, once again! Woohoo! As always, please read, enjoy, and review!**

Rising Tensions

"Okay, dad. Thanks. Uh-huh. And you're sure that she's fine? Good. Dad…I want to be there, but…you're right. She would understand. Thanks, love you too. Bye."

Yang ended the call with her father and hanged up the phone, heart heavy. Taiyang was at the hospital right now, and she wished that she could be there as well, but she had already taken off so many days from the bar. Yeah, she could trust her employees to run it without her in a pinch, but she couldn't ask Michelle to come in and act in her stead again…the poor woman had a life of her own, and covering for Yang had severely cut into it, bonuses be damned. And so, here she was, in the small staff break room that was tucked in the back of the building, worried sick and unable to go to her sister.

At least Ruby was okay. She had a short remission into respiratory failure, but was able to come out of it on her own. There had been a brief worry that she had had an allergic reaction to morphine, but it had been determined that her lapse had been caused by shock at discovering the extent of her injuries. She hadn't shown any negative reaction for quite a bit of time after getting that first dose, which was actually very lucky for Ruby. Not many pain medicines were quite as good as morphine, and Ruby was going to be in pain for quite a while.

The image of Ruby lying in her hospital bed, silent and still, flashed through Yang's mind, and she grit her teeth as she slammed her fist against the doorframe. She felt so damn useless! And now? Now Weiss was also in the hospital, and Blake was not her usual self. There was a distance to her that reminded Yang of their first year in Beacon, when Blake had wanted to desperately to go after Roman and the White Fang. Not only that, but there was also a darkness to her that Yang didn't recognize at all, that she couldn't place, and its newness was unsettling. That and all the other problems…

She sucked in a deep, fortifying breath. Time to get back to work, she told herself as she fixed a smile on her face and headed back to the front.

The bar was crowded, which was good for business but taxing on her nerves. And given that the atmosphere wasn't one of cheerful revelry like it usually was, but was instead one of gloomy moodiness wasn't helping anything, either. Everyone was on edge, anger and fear a sick undercurrent that was felt everywhere, and she glanced to one of the wall mounted televisions that was normally on a sports channel, mostly ones focusing on martial arts tournaments. Now? Now every television was on a news channel, where the talking heads were discussing the recent attacks from the Crimson Claw. Anxiety surged in her gut, and she worried her lip as she began to refill beer glasses. Already her contacts in the underground were hinting at danger, of a rising rage against the Faunus, a rage fueled by suspicion and paranoia. _The Crimson Claw had spies amongst us_, the whispers in the dark said, _we can't trust any of the Faunus. They aren't all part of the Crimson Claw, but we will never know which of them are loyal to us…or the Crimson Claw._

The worst part of it was that Yang knew exactly how that suspicion felt. Ruby's room at the hospital was confidential…the hospital took patient confidentiality extremely seriously. Blake had researched it…turned out that even _doctors_ had been fired and lost their licenses for discussing patients outside of work. Even so, the Crimson Claw had known precisely where Ruby had been. They most certainly had a spy within the hospital, and if they had a spy there, who was to say that one of her customers sitting in her bar right now wasn't in league with the Claw, wasn't keeping tabs on her because of her close ties with Weiss?

She paused, hating the feeling within her as she cautiously glanced at some of her regular Faunus customers who were noticeably on edge, quiet, hunched down, careful not to make eye contact with anyone else. Who amongst them could be spies for the Claw? Art Spiegel, the quiet Mouse Faunus sitting at the bar? Paddy Wellington, the normally cheerful Bear Faunus? Or how about Ferdinand de la Ronda, the peaceful, laid-back Bull Faunus who worked down in the docks, currently sharing a booth with Paddy? They had been coming here for as long as she had had this bar, likely drawn to her pro-Faunus rights ideologies. But one of them might have come here for darker reasons...

"Oi, everyone, shut up, it's the Council!" someone shouted from deeper in the bar, and the room came to a hush as richly dressed men and women filed on screen, faces somber. The Prime Councilor took his place at the podium, facing the camera flashes and unseen crowd of reporters with a sense of saddened dignity.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Vale. I come before you with a sense of profound sadness within my heart. Two days ago, the extremist organization known as the Crimson Claw struck the Vale Memorial Hospital in an attack that has been linked to the strike on the Vale Headquarters of the Schnee Dust Company. These attacks have received condemnation not only from the other Kingdoms, but earlier today, the White Fang offered our office their most sincere condolences and have given us information on the leaders of the Crimson Claw, which is known to be a splinter cell of the White Fang. Given their cooperation in this matter, and due to their willingness to work for peace, I urge the citizens of Vale to not consider the White Fang an extremist organization.

"However, the Crimson Claw is becoming a threat we can no longer ignore." He paused, looking down and rearranging his notes, and Yang had a sudden feeling of foreboding. The Kingdom Council had always been apathetic at best towards the White Fang. Why the change of heart? As if to answer her, the Prime Councilor looked up, grey eyes steely and resolved. "In light of their growing organization and brutality, the Crimson Claw is no longer to be considered an extremist organization. The Council has voted unanimously to declare war on the Crimson Claw."

Yang's mouth turned to ash, the world graying for a moment as the room erupted into an uproar, drowning out the Prime Councilor's next words. Declare war? On the Crimson Claw? How the hell was that going to work?! As a Huntress, she wouldn't go out on a Hunt unless she had a target to go against, a den or nest, or even a pack. It didn't have to be stationary, but it still had to exist! No one knew where the Crimson Claw was…it was like declaring war on ghosts…they can appear and attack you at will, but there was no target for Vale to attack in return. This declaration of war would only serve to heighten tensions between humans and the Faunus.

Finally, the din ebbed enough for the Prime Councilor's words to be heard again. "-once more, the Council urges all of the citizens of Vale to call the authorities in the event of seeing anyone or anything suspicious. Do not confront the situation yourselves. Any acts of vigilantism will be prosecuted. There are difficult times ahead of us, and we must stand united against the barbarism of the Crimson Claw. May Vale stand strong against the rising threat. Good night."

The televisions returned to VNN, and Lisa Lavender and Cyril Ian began to discuss the short speech. Yang tuned them out, going back to serving drinks. The Prime Councilor was right about one thing, there were dark times ahead.

Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention. In the sea of motion that was her bar, the frantic jerk and twitch stood out, almost screaming of a desire to flee. She turned her head, frowning as she registered that it was Art hurriedly pulling on his jacket, face tight and guarded. Why was he leaving so quickly? He generally stayed longer. She glanced at the TV and then back to him, eyes narrowing. He was leaving immediately after the PC declared war on the Crimson Claw. Coincidence? Her hands tightened into fists behind the bar.

But then Art's jacket sleeve hit a patron behind him, and the man turned with a frown. Upon seeing the round ears atop Art's head, the frown turned into an ugly glower, and Yang took stock of the slightly unfocused look in the man's eyes, the flush in his cheeks. Drunk. Very drunk, if his unsteady stance was anything to go by. Well-muscled, a fake tan, a too expensive haircut, and his shirt was a little too tight. Even before he spoke, Yang had him pegged. He was likely some gym rat with a way-too-high opinion of himself and too much testosterone. "Hey, watch where you're going, you furry freak!" he slurred angrily.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean-" Art started to reply, but the man, whom Yang didn't recognize as a regular, didn't give him the chance to finish.

"Don't fucking talk to me, you animal! Fucking think you have the right to be here, with humans…shit like that is why you fuckers attacked the hospital!"

Yang blinked at the outburst, surprised at the belligerence in the man's voice. Not only that, but those around him merely watched and didn't make a move to hold him back. "Please, I didn't mean to. I just want to go home!" Art pleaded.

"Why, didn't like that we declared war on your Crimson Claw buddies?" the man sneered. "Don't fucking like that we're finally tired of your shit?!" he said as he shoved Art back into the bar.

As he collided with the bar hard enough to rattle some of the glasses and bottles that Yang hadn't policed up, he turned and looked at her, and she froze upon seeing his eyes.

Terror. Stark terror. No guilt, no anger, just a soul deep fear for his safety. In a flash, she remembered some of his stories about how his grandparents and their ancestors had been forced to live in Menagerie, of the brutality that they endured, brutality that was unheard of today. Art knew full well the cruelty that humans were capable of from stories he learned at his grandparents' knees. And now, because of the Prime Councilor's declaration of war, such discrimination could very well become the reality.

_I am a Huntress. It's my job to protect the weak. How dare I think that Art is part of the Crimson Claw? How dare I let this happen?!_

"Hey, asshole, knock it off!" she barked, and the man paused in the midst of raising a fist, the bar going quiet at her words.

"Why should I?" he slurred into the sudden silence, fixing his unfocused eyes on Yang. "You see how he's trying to flee right after war was declared! He's probably a mole or some shit."

"You ever think that he's leaving because he's afraid that some prick might try and start a fight with him just to be an asshole?" she snarled back, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Fucking knew it," he murmured, stumbling slightly. "I heard the rumors that you were fucking that Faunus cunt, but I didn't know that you were sympathetic to ALL these animals!"

Beer bottles and glasses crashed to the floor as she vaulted over the bar, Ember Celica activating over her fists. "You wanna say that to my face, fucker?" she hissed, a furious flame running under her skin as her eyes bled into their enraged red and her hair began to glow a radiant gold.

"You heard me, you dyke slut! Can't even fuck your own spec-!"

She didn't know what stopped her from punching his drunk head off as she grabbed his shirt and jerked him towards her as her other arm drew back for the punch that would at the very least land him in the hospital. She did enjoy the look of terror in his drunken eyes, though. But somehow she resisted the urge to punch his belligerent nose in, and instead bodily dragged his drunk ass over to the door before throwing him out into the street. "Congratulations, fuck-knuckle, your ass just got banned. I never want to see your face again!"

"Like I want to come here again, you whore!" he shouted angrily. "Shitty ass booze and sympathetic to those that we should put down like the animals they fucking are!"

"Eat a dick, bitch! And have fun telling your buddies how you almost got your ass kicked by a girl!" she retorted before slamming the door on his angry retort. She stood there for a moment, taking multiple deep, calming breaths. She shouldn't have dropped to his level, but his kind really made her sick. The fury at his words and insinuations still buzzed through her, and as she listened to his drunk tirade that was muffled by the door, she knew that she wasn't in any condition to keep the bar open. Someone might say the wrong thing, and she wouldn't be able to hold back. She was a pugilist, dammit, and when somebody wanted to fight, her instinct was to respond in kind!

She turned and faced the crowd that was regarding her with varying degrees of concern. _One asshole doesn't change the fact that most of your customers are good people_, she reminded herself. "Sorry folks, bar's closing for the night. Careful of the broken glass. Esmera, can you handle wrapping up tabs?" she asked, and Esmera, the senior server on tonight, nodded. As people began to either make their way out the door or to the register to get their cards, she made her way to Art, noticing how people gave her a decent berth. "You alright?" she asked, and he nodded. She still noticed how he trembled slightly. "Hey, you can wait a while before leaving, make sure he's gone." Not waiting for his reaction, she turned and scanned the milling crowd. "Hey, Paddy, Ferdinand!" she called out, and the two made their way over to her. "Can you guys make sure Asshole McFuckwit doesn't bother Art when you guys leave? I don't think he'll stick around, but some people are a special kind of dick." At their nods, she felt herself relax a bit. "Thanks. Your last round is on me. Sorry for the trouble."

Ferdinand shrugged, massive shoulder rolling. "It's okay. You are good people, Yang. Is why we always come here, right fellows?" The other two agreed with him, and Yang shot them a thankful nod before going to get the broom and dustpan. Time to clean up the broken glass from when she jumped over the counter.

Three hours later, she was alone in the bar, idly cleaning up the last of the night's messes, making sure all the tables, booths, and the bar was clear of all sticky residue. The last of her helpers had left quite some time ago, and while the front door was unlocked, it was well past even the normal closing time, and most of the lights were off. So it came as a surprise when the door opened. Still a bit riled from before, she felt her pace quicken instinctively. "Hey, sorry, but we're closed," she called out with a false cheer as she looked up, trying to take stock of her visitor in the dim lighting. Female, wearing a dark hoodie with the hood up. Slim but slightly short, but curvy enough, even though her dark, baggy clothes did quite a bit to hide that fact. "We're open tomorrow, though."

"I know you're closed," came the soft reply from her visitor. "However, I have business other than drinking away my sorrows to discuss with you."

She came close enough to distinguish other details. She was wearing cargo pants, and her hands had quite a few rings. Something was slung across her back, and Yang's heart rate picked up once more. _Weapon_, her instincts whispered. The girl moved with the confident, lithe grace of a fighter or a dancer, too, and Yang stood slightly taller, squaring her shoulders. "You're going to stop, miss," she said, voice brooking no argument. "I'm not in the mood for a fight, if that's the business you came here to conduct. So, why don't you take that weapon off your back before I make you."

The girl stopped, paused, and then reach up, pulling the hood off her head, revealing pixie cut and vibrantly blue hair that had neon pink bangs, and quite a few piercings in both her ears, as well as modest silver studs in her right eyebrow and her left nostril. Then she slowly and cautiously grabbed the strap running across her chest before pulling it over her head. Yang frowned in confusion when she saw that it was a violin case. A violin? That didn't make any sense.

Wait…

Didn't that one Beacon student use a violin against the Crimson Claw?

Reverently, the girl laid the case on the bar, opening it up with twin clicks. "I'm here for a fight, but not with you, Yang Xiao Long," she said, voice still soft, a note of grief noticeably present. "In fact, I believe that we have somewhat similar objectives." She laid a gentle hand on the ebony black and gleaming violin that lay within the case, and Yang suppressed a shudder that came out of nowhere. That violin…

The girl…no, young woman, looked up at her with sad lavender eyes, and Yang noticed that she was actually quite pretty behind the grief that dominated her features. Her pixie cut only accentuated her elfin features. "You've met my half-sister before, yes?"

Yang wracked her brain, trying to pair the tall, willowy girl whom she had met so briefly with a name. "Iva, right?"

Her answer was a sad, sad smile. "So you remember her name. That means so much to me." She paused, face crumpling in grief for a moment before she composed herself. "My sister…was one of the few in the family to really love me. After all, I was the result of an indiscretion on my father's part, and was thus an embarrassment for all involved. But Iva…her heart was pure, and she was always encouraging me to achieve the most that I could. It was her that convinced me to attend Beacon, and it was her that convinced me to go into music." She paused, and then thrust out her hand. "My name is Melody Derevo, by the way."

Yang took the offered hand and shook it, noting the firm, confident strength behind it, strength the belied her thin frame. "I think I've seen your name at the music store," she mentioned as the handshake ended and Melody gracefully hopped up onto a barstool.

Melody shrugged at Yang's words, face nonchalant. "I've sold a few albums, nothing to get too hyped up about. I found passion in music, and I'm glad that Iva supported me through all the hard times of trying to get accepted. And now, her quiet radiance is gone from the world forever. We've all come to terms that we might fall against Grimm, but for sentient beings with souls to slay her…I cannot express the rage and grief that seized me upon finding out that Iva was dead. That's why I came here."

"The business you mentioned earlier?"

"The business I mentioned earlier. See, I desperately want to find those responsible for killing my sister, and make them pay in ways that make their worst nightmares seem tame in comparison."

Yang glanced again at the violin lying on her bar. Something was terribly unsettling about the black, gleaming instrument. "With that?"

Melody spun the barstool to face the case and its instrument. "Not many people realize the raw power of music. Did you know that the violin is considered the prince of instruments?" she asked softly as she once more rested her fingertips on the gleaming wood body. "It can produce notes that hearten the body, bring joy to the soul, or bring skin-crawling terror to its audience…" she trailed off, eyes distant. Then she smiled, a cruel, thin-lipped thing that made Yang's skin crawl. "Did you also know that the Devil is said to play the fiddle?" she asked as she ran her fingers up the violin's neck to brush against the tuning pegs that Yang noticed were an unsettling bone-white in color. "It's said that any mortal to use his fiddle could command the very hosts of hell. Now, of course, that's just crazy. I've never encountered any demon or devil, and I doubt hell exists. However…."

Yang couldn't help it. "However?"

Melody's eyes glinted dangerously as she continued to grin that unsettling grin. "However, if one's Aura was music based, why, one might be able to make his or her opponent's skin dance right off their body." Then her cruel smile fled away from her face, and despite the brightly colored hair her youthful face, Yang could see the Reaper in the grim cast to her face. "Their skin could dance off…or worse."

Yang really didn't want to know what 'worse' constituted. "Music based Aura run in your family?" she asked past a dry mouth.

Melody's face lost some of its harshness. "Yeah. Iva had some skill with it. The violin she was using that night was my second best, and she was only borrowing it while she was repairing her primary weapon. It had been damaged at school during one of their practice bouts. Maybe if she had had her weapon, she would still be alive. Or maybe if she had decided to not go in that night…" Once more, her face crumpled in grief as her voice thickened with tears, and Yang shifted uneasily. Melody gave one heart-wrenching sob, hand forming into a fist atop her violin as she grit her teeth and swallowed the rest of her anguish. After a moment, she composed herself, clearing her throat as she looked up to Yang with red, shimmering eyes. "I don't…I don't blame you or your sister for what happened, and my sister volunteered to guard your sister. I know that without a doubt, she would have been glowing with pride to know that she held the enemy off long enough for Weiss to arrive on the scene and protect Ruby. Hers was a life well spent."

Yang nodded solemnly. "But your sister is still dead, and you'll never see her again."

Melody nodded, tears beginning to course down her cheek. "You're right," she croaked. "I'll never get another cheerful email talking about her day, never get a phone call and gossip about boys, never again meet her for coffee or to go shopping. But it's not your fault. It's the fault of the Crimson Claw. And this I swear to you," she said, voice becoming as hard as steel. "I will _not_ let her death go unpunished, nor unavenged. Yang Xiao Long…as one Huntress to another, I ask to join with you and yours until this hunt is complete and those that have trespassed against us so terribly are brought to justice!"

Yang stared at Melody for a long moment, gauging the determination in her before coming to a decision. She made her way around the back of the bar and grabbed her most expensive bottle of whiskey. Wordlessly, she poured two shots, and slid one of them over to Melody. Yang lifted her shot glass in salute, and Melody followed suit. The glasses clinked together, and they both slammed the shots back simultaneously. "Welcome to the team," Yang bit through the whiskey's fire, and the grin that she got in return would have made the fiercest Beowulf turn tail and run.

The Crimson Claw had no idea how much trouble they were in…


	10. Changes in Management

**AN: Okay, so this one isn't as long as the others, and that might be a trend to continue. Shorter chapters would mean faster updates. This one took a while because of that two weeks of training I was talking about. We really didn't have much spare time.**

**Like last chapter, this chapter introduces a new character, only this one already exists in the RWBY-verse. I hope that my interpretation of her will keep you interested, given how little of her is known in canon. Anyway, hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter. Not getting any reviews last chapter was kinda surprising. I want to know if I'm giving you guys good content! :)**

**So, as always, read, enjoy, and ****please review****!**

Changes in Management

When Blake stormed into work two days after the attack on the hospital, she was furious. She gave a curt nod to the guards manning the lobby as she swiped her way through the security gate, and even through her rage, she noticed that there were more of them than usual, and there had better be a heavily armed and armored quick reaction force somewhere on the premises, she grumbled to herself as she briskly strode to the elevators. "Hold, please!" she called out to the group of workers boarding one of the elevators, and she impatiently checked her watch as she stepped onto it. "Thanks, floor twenty, please." She pulled out her scroll, going to the tab she had saved that reviewed all the security steps the company was taking. There were company-wide vehicle checks ongoing, in the off chance that the Crimson Claw wanted to try and repeat the same sort of attack that landed Ruby in the hospital in the first place. The elevator dinged, and she nodded respectfully as she brushed past the other people still in the car. There would be no repeat of the attack that started this whole debacle.

And speaking of debacles…she didn't even bother to acknowledge Hana sitting at her desk or even to knock when she reached the doors to the CEO Suite, she just pushed through them, her trench coat flaring out behind her. She instantly catalogued the silver hair not done up in the off-center ponytail but an elegant bun, the blue eyes that weren't as cold, and the scarless face. "Winter," she ground out, eyes narrowing at the nineteen-year-old girl lounging in Weiss's chair.

"Why, Miss Belladonna!" Winter gasped in surprise, ditzy tone grating against Blake's nerves. "I would have thought that you were polite enough to knock, instead of just bursting in here like a thug." She tutted gently. "We're going to have to be more respectful while I'm running the company, silly." The smile she shot Blake was dazzling, but that fact made Blake want to punch her even more. Fool of a girl! How could Weiss be this airheaded socialite's sister? "Oh, and speaking of respect, you will address me as Miss Schnee from now on."

"Am I?" Blake asked quietly as her hands curled into fists.

Winter giggled. "Of course you will! After all, I'm your boss until Weiss is ready to take control again. Or do you want to fight the Board's decision?" When Blake made no retort, Winter gave another ditzy smile. "Shut the door, dear, you're letting in a draft."

Shoulders stiff, Blake turned around and closed the doors behind her, not making eye contact with Hana. Once the doors clicked shut, she turned around and shot Winter a tight smirk. "Anything else, _Miss Schnee_?"

Winter straightened up in the chair, face losing that vacuous quality that Blake had always associated with her. "Yes, if you could turn off all the recording devices in this room…including the ones that Weiss doesn't know about. We have business to discuss, and I don't want any of it recorded."

Blake blinked in shock at that. Winter was always the one that shirked responsibility of the Schnee name, instead using her family to get what she wanted. She was the perfect example of a spoiled little daddy's girl that didn't want to work…wasn't she? Cautiously, she pulled out her scroll and deactivated all the bugs in the room. "Done, now what's this about?"

Winter rolled her eyes as she pulled up the holographic monitors that were part of Weiss's desk. "You know, I would have thought Weiss capable of having better firewalls and passwords. It only took me about fifteen minutes to get access to the entire system." Cold eyes peered over the top of one of the holo-screens. "Going a little fast, weren't you? Luckily the Chief of Police decided to keep it on the low."

Blake blinked, worry whispering against the back of her neck. That file was buried deep in Weiss's computer system, and should have been accessible only to Weiss or herself. For Winter to get access to it so quickly…then the anger hit. "Listen, you-!" she snarled as she stepped forward.

But before she could finish her sentence, Winter leaned forward, eyes widening with delight. "Oh ho! Running a torture house? I didn't think you had it in you!" Winter crowed, and Blake froze mid-step, the worry from before morphing into a ball of icy dread. She had been so careful…that information should not have been available from Weiss's system, especially not from a girl who frequently barely passed all of her courses in school!

"How did you…?" she started, a cold sweat gathering between her shoulder blades.

At her tentative words, Winter shot her a glance that was full of annoyed anger. "Really? That's your reaction? Head of security for the SDC and practically _born_ into espionage, and your first reaction isn't to deny, deny, deny?" Her lips peeled back in a disgusted sneer. "Really, I'm disappointed in you. Especially since you know for a fact that there is nothing in the world that outright states that you have a torture house." She rolled her eyes. "Come here."

Blake did as she was asked, moving around the desk to stand at Winter's shoulder, eyes seeking out the reports that the younger girl was pointing at.

"Okay, so, these are from when Weiss took control from father. There was a large overhaul across all of our branches, so there's a lot of data. But here, under miscellaneous expenses, there's quite a few oddities. The SDC bought an old warehouse out in Vale's agriculture district, but then it's not mentioned again. Then, in Atlas, a lot of soundproofing material is bought, and then is reported as stolen a little later. But then there's a train shipment down to Vale with dimensions large enough to ship that soundproofing stuff plus even more construction material. The shipment ledger states that it's equipment that is hazardous and independently inspected…equipment that isn't anywhere else on the SDC equipment lists. It arrives in Vale, the appropriate third party transpo company picks it up, and it promptly disappears."

Winter paused, and looked back to Blake with an amused grin. "By the way, sensory deprivation? How deliciously evil of you," she almost purred, and Blake glared down at her.

"What makes you think that?"

Winter scoffed. "Really? An abandoned warehouse out in the middle of farm fields? There's no one around to hear the screams, and the amount of soundproofing stuff you got would do for two or three buildings of comparable size."

Blake crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Good for you, you figured it out. You want a cookie and some milk for being smart?"

All mirth fled from Winter's face, and she glared at Blake. "Smart? I'm not smart, Belladonna. I'm a genius."

Now it was Blake's turn to scoff. "Isn't that a little presumptuous of you?"

"Normally, yes. But given my Masters in Operations Management, and Baccalaureates in International Business and Finance, and I was the head of every…single…class I was in should say something of my intelligence. More than that, I've convinced the entire world that I'm a simpleton not capable of running this company. And I've taken many tests to try and see how smart I really am. Let's just say that ninety percent of the time, I'm the smartest person in the room, and one hundred percent of the time, I'm within the top three most intelligent in a room."

Blake stepped back, brow furrowing. This…this was NOT how this meeting was supposed to go. She was supposed to confront the weak-minded little girl that Winter had appeared to be and find out why she was really there, when the Board could easily keep control until Weiss was ready to return…after all, her wound really wasn't that bad, for her Aura had deflected most of the damage. But Blake fully intended to bully the younger Schnee into confirming Blake's suspicions that she was there only to be a pawn of the Schnee patriarch, who had signed a contract forbidding him from taking direct control of the company, unless he was the only Schnee left alive. Instead, this little girl showed herself capable of thinking circles around Blake, all while spilling Company secrets without hesitation.

"But…why? If you're this smart, why not take control of the SDC?"

Winter giggled again, and playfully spun in her chair. "Because," she explained, "I don't give a shit about the company, or the Schnee legacy. I only care about me. I'm nineteen, I wanna party, have fun, meet cute boys. Running the company would _so_ cut into that!"

"So why are you here now?"

The joy fled, replaced with an angry sneer. "Because daddy pressured the Board into selecting an 'Emergency CEO' for the company while Weiss is recovering. And of course, because I'm just this ditzy little girl with no ability to think for herself, he was planning to control the company through me. Him, control me. Me! Stubborn old fool doesn't know how in over his head he is." She sighed angrily, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. But then she smiled again. "Though, the look on his face if he were to find out about your negotiations with the White Fang before you were ready to release it to the public would be hilarious. Might even give him a stroke. Of course, he could also leak it to the press with a negative spin, and get Weiss removed from the company and quite possibly disowned as well…"

She trailed off, eyes glittering as she peered at Blake, and Blake swallowed past a dry mouth. "Is that a threat?"

Winter burst out laughing at that. "Oh, of course not, darling! Threats are so passé. It was merely an observation. But there _are_ those within the company that probably don't like what Weiss is doing, and they would have no qualms with crushing her. So. I'm going to help prevent that."

"How selfless of you," Blake snarked drily, even as her mind was racing. Dissidents within the workforce? She had thought that she had been thorough during the switchover.

"Selfless? Don't be silly. If Weiss is removed, I'd probably have to take over, and like I said before, I have no desire to stop having fun. So, let's get down to business. I'd suggest creating some sort of traffic to your little house of fun in the agriculture district. It can just be on paper, but if there's just this building out in the middle of nowhere being used by nothing, someone is going to notice, and start asking questions. Maybe have it be an additional storehouse for Dust overflow. Then you could also justify having a full time staff out there, under the pretense of them being guards. Hell, make it official. I doubt you have it up to capacity, you aren't bloodthirsty enough. So, actually store some Dust out there. Have it be supposedly unstable Dust so people are less likely to go poking around. Maybe even buy some more land and dig a magazine to make it more convincing." She leaned back in her chair, face pensive. "But we might have bigger problems to deal with that are a good deal more pressing."

"The Crimson Claw?"

"Indeed." Winter frowned thoughtfully, chewing on her lip for a moment. "Have you ever noticed how stupid they were with the hospital attack?" she suddenly asked after the short silence, and Blake quirked a brow at her.

"Stupid? How so?"

Winter shook her head. "Well, maybe not stupid…but sending in assault teams really was one of the more inefficient ways to kill Rose. How would you have done it?"

It only took a moment for Blake to come up with an answer. "A sniper using an antimaterial rifle in an opposite building. The window's glass was warded and Ruby's bed was behind a column, but a skilled marksman with the right equipment could fire enough shots to break the ward and glass, and put enough explosive rounds through the column and into Ruby to get the job done. Only downside is that they wouldn't know for sure. The buildings offering the right vantage points were also in use, making discovery more likely. We also discretely beefed up the security in them for that very reason. If not a sniper, then use a Bullhead armed with guided rockets and an autocannon."

Winter laughed again. "You really aren't that bloodthirsty, are you?" she asked gaily. "I would have taken a garbage or delivery truck, packed it full of explosives and Dust, parked it as close to the building and underneath her room, and taken that whole side of the hospital down. What better way to kill her than to also send out a message about your own ruthlessness?"

Blake stared at Winter in shock. "But…you really wouldn't do something like that, right?"

Winter rolled her eyes. "Weren't you listening, dear? The only important person in my world is me. If I have to kill someone in order to further my own gains, I will do it in a way that won't result in failure, and who cares if others become collateral damage? Because really, is there any difference between murdering one person or murdering one hundred, or one thousand people?" She scoffed. "I would have thought that the Crimson Claw would have come to that same conclusion."

"You're a sociopath," Blake breathed, horror running up and down her spine, and the glare she received in return for her words was scathing.

"Really? Going to labels now? Honestly, I would think that you should be thanking me for what I'm doing."

"Thanking you? I'd only thank you if you were doing any of this out of a sense of service or obligation to others. You are only doing this to fulfill your own selfish desires!"

"Then you should be thankful that my selfish desires run concurrent with your own objectives, Miss Belladonna. Because let's be honest…if I wanted to crush you, it would not end well for you."

"And what's to stop me from snapping your little neck?" Blake asked past a curled lip that bared her canines. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

"Didn't I say that threats were passé, Miss Belladonna?" Winter asked as she leaned back into the chair, giving off a sense of boredom more than concern for her welfare. "You are perfectly capable of killing me. But you won't. Weiss would never forgive you. It's entirely illegal. I'm not your enemy. And while you may not have consciously accepted it yet, you have already realized that you really, really need me. I want the company to prosper so that I can continue to pay for my lifestyle. I won't do anything to stop Weiss's more radical plans for a happier future so long as they don't jeopardize my own future. I'm sure you can understand that."

"Yes, I can. However, how do we really need you?"

"Very simple, my dear. Even after Weiss recovers and Rose is able to fight again, I can act as the substitute CEO until Weiss is fully ready to take the reins of power back and I can go back to partying. I can free not only you but all of Team RWBY up to do what you do best."

"And what's that?"

The grin Winter shot her was dark and full of malice. "_Hunt_."


	11. Purpose Found

**AN: Okay, so, a month after my last update, here's another one. This one is pretty juicy at nearly 4,500 words, and now we'll be actively beginning Ruby's recovery phase. I will give some warning that this chapter is one of the darker ones in the story. You'll have to read and see, but I tried to keep everyone in character as much as possible. Life isn't going to get any harder for Team RWBY, that's for certain...**

**Well, as always, read, enjoy, and please review!**

Purpose Found

"How smart is your sister?"

Weiss blinked, surprised by Blake's question. They were in her hospital room, opera playing softly in the background, and sheaves of paper spread out on her bed. She envied Blake in her jeans and tee-shirt, as the hospital gown she was wearing was an ugly green that no one could make look good, and it was open in the back, giving one the perception of continuously mooning people. She sat back, wincing at the twinge of pain emanating from her right shoulder. The pain meds were good, but not so good as to eliminate all discomfort. Sure the arm was in a sling to help discourage movement, but that only did so much. "Winter?" she asked for clarification, confused by Blake's question. Blake had never shown much interest in her sister, and for good reason.

"Unless you have another sister that you aren't telling me about, then yes…and I do dearly hope that there isn't another."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she stretched her legs out, careful not to send the piles of papers sliding to the floor. "No, I don't have another sister. But Winter?" She paused, thinking back to just barely adequate report cards, Father's disappointed scowls, and Winter's flippant dismissal of the issue. "I think she's a bit smarter than she lets on, but I'd be surprised if she's smarter than I am. But I can't say for certain…grades have never been important to her, to Father's immense frustration. Why?"

And then Blake grimaced, as though she had bitten into something very unpleasant. "Damn, she _is_ good," she murmured, brows furrowed angrily.

"Blake, what's all this about?"

Blake leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees as her hands came together. "Bear with me for a moment. Imagine, if you would, that you were a chess player participating in a massive tournament. Not the only player in the room, not by far, but you are still a player."

"Do go on," Weiss retorted drily. What was Blake on about?

"I asked you to bear with me, Weiss," Blake admonished, face somber. "Well, now try and imagine the shock of finding out that you _aren't_ a player, you are actually just a piece in another person's game."

"Oh, spare me the horror. What does this have to do with Winter?"

"I thought Winter was a piece in the game I was playing, maybe even another player, though that didn't seem likely. She isn't. She's a player in the game within which I am a piece."

Silence ruled for a moment, and then Weiss sighed as she brought up her hand to rub at her temple, an attempt to forestall the headache she could practically feel coming on. "You aren't making any sense. Please explain this delightful little parable to me…I'm evidently not bright enough to understand it."

Blake turned in her chair, reaching up to the counter to dig around in her briefcase. Pulling out a stack of papers, she turned to face Weiss again. "Allow me to introduce Cyan Verres to you."

Weiss scowled. "Okay, now you're starting to annoy me. I just wanted to go over the company paperwork to make sure my airheaded sister isn't going to ruin anything, and here you are talking in riddles and speaking of strange people."

Blake's somber expression didn't change as she handed Weiss the papers. "This will all make a terrible sense very soon. Cyan Verres was born in Vacuo but he immigrated to Atlas. He lives alone, out on the edges of the kingdom, and all of his work is done from the computer. He attended multiple colleges online, and always placed first in the class standings. He currently has a Masters in Operations Management, and two bachelor's degrees, one in International Business and the other in Finance. I have confirmed that he's currently in a Doctorate program for Operations Management, and as before, he's at the head of his class."

Weiss flipped through the papers while Blake was speaking, scanning over the data. Mr. Verres was apparently 34, and had no living relatives. Fairly average face, from the ID picture, and he wore glasses. His blue-green hair was slightly mussed up, and his face was slightly wrinkled. "Okay, what does that have to do with Winter?"

"He _is_ Winter."

Weiss gave a short bark of laughter, ignoring the brief burst of pain it sent off. "Seriously? You know how much money this would take? And it would take specialists to set up all this information. And Winter isn't bloody smart enough to pull this off!"

Blake shook her head. "Going back to my game analogy. I've always viewed Winter as being a piece to be used by the SDC…well, used or ignored while she partied her life away. But three days ago, when she officially assumed control of the Company and we met, she proved that she's so much more than that…and a great, great deal more intelligent than we thought. Maybe even smarter than I am."

Weiss stared at Blake for a long moment. Blake wasn't a fool, and neither was she. If Blake said her sister was that smart, she'd be stupid to ignore her and dismiss her words. "Explain."

And so Blake did. Cyan Verres was a fictional character, but a very well constructed one. His birth certificate would pass any scrutiny, he was a well respected writer for multiple news agencies, but he always worked from home, a home that was well removed from other people. The nearest neighbor was two miles away, and Verres' house was set in a stand of woods. The lights did come on, and there was a car parked out front, but the lights seemed to be automatic, or possibly remotely controlled. All his correspondence and internet work was indeed sent through the house's IP address. His jobs were enough for him to pay for his mortgage, his taxes, and his student loans. The only thing that Verres was lacking was face-to-face contact with anyone.

But how did this link Winter with this fictional man? Blake had the advantage of knowing what to look for, and she explained that she had a trusted man hack into the internet provider's database. Whenever Verres posted something or sent anything out from his computer, he received an email from an outside IP address, and whenever he received any email from somewhere other than that IP address, it was automatically forwarded to three separate IP addresses, all three of which turned out to be automatic routers that sent the forwarded email to…you guessed it…the same IP address that triggered his sending out his work. And that IP address was traced to Winter's posh apartment in Atlas.

Weiss remained silent through Blake's report, but her face became more and more clouded with anger. "That sneaky little…!" Weiss fumed. "How dare she? She could have easily taken control of the Company, but instead she played stupid while I worked so hard to please father? That is _so_ infuriating, the little brat! Wait until I get my hands on her!"

"That's not all, and I'd be careful in any actions taken against her," Blake warned, and Weiss sneered.

"Or what, she'll beat me in chess? She turned down the opportunity to be the head of the Company…_I'm_ in control of the finances…let's see how smug she is after I stop her allowance!"

"Weiss, it's not that simple. You're doing the same thing I did, letting anger cloud your judgment. She caught me by surprise, outmaneuvered me, and kept me off balance during that meeting. I won't let her do the same to you. If we're going to beat her…if we _need_ to beat her, we must keep our heads and keep calm. She was able to break all your encryptions and found out about…sensitive issues."

Weiss's mouth ran dry at that. _All_ of her encryptions? "What do you mean?"

"She knows about your negotiations with the White Fang, as well as my traffic incident." And then Blake paused, face growing troubled and, dare Weiss say it, guilty. "She also found something else that might be worse."

"Something worse? Blake, if Winter leaks the contents of that meeting before we can put the right spin on it, it could be disastrous, especially now that there's practically a war between the human kingdoms and a Faunus terrorist group! I don't even want to know what that would do to the Company! What could possibly be worse than that?"

Blake sighed as she picked up her scroll, fiddling with it. "Weiss, did you ever notice any data inconsistencies that might have begun during your takeover and continuing through to today?"

Weiss frowned, leaned back in the bed. She was no expert on the literally thousands of parts of data that was processed daily, but she did like to keep her eyes open and an ear on the ground. She could even honestly claim that corruption had been reduced during her leadership, with evidence of bribes being hunted with a vengeance. But any data inconsistencies? "No, I can't think of any, why do you ask?"

Blake nervously bit her lip, then took a steeling breath, and Weiss suddenly remembered the minutes leading up to the meeting with the White Fang. There had been something Blake hadn't told her. "You didn't notice anything, nor did any of our data analysts. I had been careful to make sure that everything fell within normal expenditures and materiel loss, and yet, Winter saw right through it…"

"Blake, what are you saying?" Weiss asked slowly, quietly, eyes narrowed, analyzing every move that her friend made. Guilt, fear, shame…she did not like to see these emotions in Blake's face, eyes…even the way she held herself. But finally Blake lifted her scroll and turned it so that Weiss could see the screen. Weiss frowned as she leaned forward, trying to read the sentence that Blake had written on the notes app. Then her face went slack in disbelief as she tried to understand, to _comprehend_ the sentence that was glaring her in the face. "Is…is this true?" she asked tremulously, hoping that it was a cruel joke.

Blake nodded as she took her scroll back, deleting that evil sentence. "Winter was able to deduce its existence with less than an hour at your terminal. I feel as though she's a greater threat than the Crimson Claw, in some ways. So long as she gets what she wants, she should remain a non-issue, but if she starts getting ambitious, then-"

She continued to talk, but Weiss couldn't hear her over the loud ringing in her ears, and she swore she saw red. The shock and disbelief had turned into the pain of betrayal and the furious rage that Blake would do this to her. It took her some very long minutes of concentration, but finally she was able to speak. "Shut up," she managed to spit out, as though the words themselves were poisonous. And damn Blake for remaining so _passive_, her eyes sad and expectant. Bloody _expectant_ of what was coming! "How _dare_ you! I can't even…just…!" she started, and made a sound of wordless fury. Through it all, Blake remained silent.

Heart pounding and stomach sick, Weiss struggled to find the words to express what she was feeling. "I can't even understand how…how is this _right_?! How dare you take my Company and sully it with these deplorable acts? Have you no common sense, no _decency_?!"

"I was doing it to protect your interests," Blake offered quietly, and Weiss's left hand snapped up, and for a terrible moment, Weiss almost let fly with the slap. But she controlled herself. Barely, but she managed it.

"My _interests_? My interests are to not see my Company continue the way that it has been in the past! I believe in the Rule of Law, and the SDC is NOT above the law! No person nor organization is!" She took a few deep breaths, trying futilely to calm down. No, she was too angry, too hurt, too betrayed by the one she thought she could depend on the most. "Winter knows about it…what if it was leaked to the press, or worse, to the White Fang?! Here I am, making promises to a brighter future, and you're fucking torturing Faunus on an SDC property! Are you _trying_ to fucking undermine all that I am working for?!"

The swear words took her by surprise, for she had always viewed them as tools used by the less eloquent and dignified. She was above such coarse words…but now? She felt perfectly justified in using them. She also realized that she had openly admitted what Blake had done, and she glanced furtively at the door leading to the hall. Please, let no one have heard!

Blake looked away. "It is sometimes necessary to have something like this in order to protect the lives of the innocent. I have gotten good intelligence from there, including the information that allowed you to reach Ruby in time. If I hadn't done what I did, she would be dead now," she said in that same quiet, dead voice. Then she turned to face Weiss again, face almost pleading. "Please, it was necessary!"

But Weiss wasn't having it, no matter the truth in Blake's words. A strange, brittle calm fell upon her as her anger went from burning hot to icy cold, and she could no more have stopped an avalanche than she could have stopped the words coming from her mouth. "Necessary? I'll tell you what's necessary, _Belladonna_. I am going to go visit Ruby. When I get back, you will be gone, and I don't want to see or hear from you again for the rest of today. You will no longer visit me. You will personally oversee the complete destruction of that property, and you will be the one to erase any evidence of it from the SDC records. When I am released from the hospital, you will have your most trusted personnel escort the individual you got the information on the hospital strike from to me so that I may beg him for forgiveness for what the SDC did to him. Your employment with the SDC is…" and now she paused, throat tightening and eyes burning, her mind's wailing in despairing protest that was heard even through her still burning anger. This was her friend!

But now she had to act as the CEO of the SDC, not as Weiss Schnee, friend of Blake Belladonna. And truly, if Blake wasn't her friend, she'd have had her arrested for what she had done. At least let her actions and words, harsh though they were, protect Blake from the law…

She forced herself to speak through the angry tears that were mere moments from falling. "Blake Belladonna, your employment with the SDC is considered suspended until further notice. You will receive a stipend. You will not act in any official capacity as an employee of the SDC. You are not allowed on any SDC property without permission." By the end, her words were barely above a hoarse croak, and she knew that she had to leave. Unable to look at Blake, she swung her legs off the bed, knocking a few of the stacks of paper to the floor. She faltered, seized by the desire to pick them up, but she couldn't stay, not a minute longer. "I'm sorry!" she whispered, and she fled into the hall, shoulder beginning to burn. She heard someone, maybe one of the aides, call her name, but she ignored the voice, and instead walked as quickly as she could to the stairway that would lead her one floor down to where Ruby was.

She only managed to get through the door before she slumped down on the steps, sobbing. Grief, anger, guilt, and an overwhelming sense of betrayal swirled within her, and she had to fight not to vomit. But above it all, she fervently wished that she wasn't the CEO of the SDC, that she hadn't been the heiress when she went to Beacon, that she had merely been another girl. Logically, she knew that if she hadn't been the heiress, she never would have gone to Beacon, but all the same, she yearned for a world where she could have only been a Huntress, where her friendship wasn't being tarnished by duty and responsibility.

She remained in that stairwell for a long time.

xxxXXXxxx

Ruby sat in the cool darkness of her room, barely paying attention to the noises coming from beyond the closed curtain that covered her room's door. She had no interest in the busy lives of the nurses and aides and doctors that scurried about, trying to heal the wounded and sick. Two of the aides had come in a short while ago, rolled her on her side, and had crammed a pillow underneath her back and buttocks. While they worked, they had explained that it was to keep pressure off of her back and tailbone until she was well enough to get up and move around on her own. But until then, they needed to prevent any bed sores. She hadn't said anything while they talked…nor had she moved a muscle while they shifted her around. They had asked if she had wanted something to drink, and she had given a miniscule shake of her head, the only movement that she had made while they were there.

Then they had left, leaving her in the darkness. No negligence on their part, she didn't want the lights on. The darkness complimented her mood, and the terrible irony was not lost to her. She could remember quite clearly telling herself that she wouldn't ever fall into depression if she got really hurt…she'd drive on, make herself better. What didn't kill her made her stronger, and all that sentimental claptrap. But now…

She forced herself to look at the stump, and had to fight the urge to vomit. Objectively, she knew that it was actually a textbook amputation surgery, and that the doctors did a phenomenal job on it. But she couldn't be freakin' objective, because it was HER ARM! She could only see the ugliness behind the terrible wound, the stitches still holding the flaps of skin together, the dark, rusty red of the scabbed over areas…she was repulsed by the very sight of her arm. And even now, it didn't feel real, like she would wake up and her arm would be back. It certainly didn't help that she could still feel it…sometimes pins and needles, at other times her missing arm merely itched…but it was _maddening _to have an itch that couldn't ever be scratched.

…and why couldn't she be allowed the debatable mercy of even _remembering_ losing the arm? She still couldn't remember much beyond waiting for Weiss to get out of work. It was…jarring, to say the least, to have you last solid memory to be one of happy anticipation and then waking up to everything being _wrong_. An eye gone, an arm gone, talk of bloody _war_. It wasn't right. At least if she could remember the injury she could tie what she was now to the event itself. Yes, she'd suffer from the trauma of remembering her arm blowing off, but at least she'd have the memory! Without it, she doubted that this would ever feel real. She watched carefully as she lifted her stubby right arm, shuddered, looked away. How could she ever be the Huntress that she had been with such a handicap?

Yes, yes, she knew that there were prosthetics that were amazingly advanced…but nothing so advanced that it would allow her to wield Crescent Rose with the same dexterity that she had had before. She might be able to learn another weapon, one that only required one hand, but it wouldn't be the same…nothing would ever be the same again. It was that thought that continued to echo in her head over and over, punctuating her other thoughts of worthless denial and of crushing depression. She had lost her purpose in her young life, and that _hurt_, hurt in ways she couldn't come to grips with. Professor Ozpin had come in, and had offered her a position as an assistant professor, thinking he was helping her. But she knew in her heart of hearts that such a position would be equal to spiritual suicide. Being on the campus would merely remind her, day after day, of what she had lost, and being surrounded by young, fit, and whole students who could do what she could not would be more than she could bear. She appreciated Ozpin's offer, but she couldn't accept it, not in a million years…not the way she was now. She had to find her way again. And how could she do that without her arm? And with that question, the thought that had been floating on the edge of her awareness finally came to the fore, though she wished she could deny it.

She was going to have to find another profession. All of her hopes and dreams had collapsed, and she couldn't do a damn thing. But worse than the loss of her future as a Huntress was the inescapable feeling that she had let her mother down. How could she honor her mom's memory when she couldn't follow in her footsteps anymore? She shifted slightly, turning her head so that she could press her face into her pillow as that bleak darkness seized her soul.

But before the tears could come, the doorway's curtain was briskly pulled open. Ruby glanced at the person standing in the door, fully expecting to see her nurse. Upon recognizing who it was, she frowned and forced herself to sit up in the bed, doing her best to ignore the pain and weakness that flared up, trying to drag her back down. "Weiss?" she croaked, hating how her voice sounded now. Gravelly and ugly, and it hurt to speak for long periods of time, or even to raise her voice beyond a conversational tone. She winced, fighting the urge to clear her throat as she brought her hand up to touch the sides of her neck. Then she noticed Weiss's trembling lip, red eyes, and blotched cheeks. "Weiss, what's wrong? Have you been crying?" Her eyes narrowed. "Whose butt do I need to kick?"

Weiss didn't answer any of her questions, and instead moved to the side of her bed, her steps jerky. Before Ruby could ask any other questions, Weiss fairly collapsed at her side, right arm in its sling carelessly banging against one of the bed's rails, but Weiss didn't seem to notice, her head bowed with grief more than pain. Instead, her left hand dropped onto Ruby's stomach and fisted into her bed covers. Ruby was bewildered, not sure what to do…Weiss had visited before, but never in a mood like _this_! "W-Weiss?" she stammered, and to her horror, Weiss's shoulders began to shake, and she could hear sniffles. "Weiss, please stop crying!" she pleaded desperately. "I never know what to do when you cry!"

But Weiss didn't stop, and so Ruby, unsure of what else to do, reached out and placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder, careful to avoid the mass of bandages. It took a great deal of effort, but she found the strength to begin rubbing her closest friend's shoulder and back. They stayed like that for several long moments, but finally Weiss's tears started to abate. "Weiss, what's going on? What's wrong?" she rasped quietly, trying to make her deep concern audible past her damaged throat and voice.

Weiss looked up at her, and her heart lurched uncomfortable. Tears still streamed down Weiss's face, and her expression was…broken. It lacked hope and will and pride and everything that made Weiss so beautiful. "Ruby," she whispered, voice catching on her tears. "Ruby, please come back to us…please get better."

Ruby looked away with a hollow, bitter laugh at that. "What use would I be to you right now? I can't even hunt anymore…"

From the corner of her eye, she saw Weiss's face crumple. "Ruby, we don't need a Huntress…we need our team leader. We need the binding force that made Team RWBY what we were!" She broke off, looked away, a profound sadness glimmering in her eyes. "It's just…nothing is the same anymore…the world is changing right now, and nothing is as it seems." Was it Ruby's imagination, or was there a note of defeat in Weiss's words? Weiss, defeated? Impossible! But then Weiss looked back at her, and Ruby cringed. That _was_ a look of hopeless defeat in her eyes. "Ruby, we need you…" she started, hesitated, and then continued in a strangled whisper as her tears started to flow again. "_I_ need you."

Ruby swallowed nervously at that, butterflies fluttering momentarily in her stomach before she squashed them. Weiss didn't mean it like that, even though Ruby wished she did. No, Weiss merely meant that she needed her old team leader back. Ruby sighed, turned her head, glanced at the hideous stump, and she tentatively tried to bring the right corner of her mouth up in a mockery of a smile, but stopped as her burnt skin tugged and flared up in pain. How tempting it was to just stay here, wallowing in the ruins of her future.

But…

Her friends needed her. If for no one else, she would work on healing, be the leader that they needed, and at the end of it all, maybe then she could fade away into oblivion, letting this living nightmare come to a close. But first, she had a job to do. She took her hand off of Weiss's shoulder, grasped the bedrail, and laboriously pulled herself so that she was sitting fully up. "Weiss, could you get my nurse? I want to see if I can work with physical therapy today. I'm not getting any better just lying around."

Weiss blinked at her, and then smiled. It was a smile tinged with deep sadness, but behind it was a joy that was as radiant as the full moon. And as she smiled softly in return, Ruby felt as though the light of the smile pierced through the dark miasma of despair that had enshrouded her. Weiss's smile was the light at the end of the tunnel…might as well start making her way towards it.

It would be much later that Ruby realized that Weiss's teary pleas were just what she needed to pull herself out of her funk and start the long and hard process of healing. It would be a long, hard road to travel, but if Weiss was there with her, it would be worth it, every difficult step…


	12. Going Home

**AN: Holy gee willickers, it HAS been a while! Part of it was having a massive case of writer's block for the first scene, and I've also been working a lot of overtime. Meh, sometimes I really hate having to adult. But, in other news, my wife and I are looking to buy a house! It's super exciting, and while the home we are looking at is _firmly_ entrenched in the 1970s (why was vomit green EVER a good color for a living room?!) it seems to be structurally sound, has lots of room, and there's also a barn/garage, and it has plenty of room for gardening. We're totes excited!**

**However, that will impact the writing a little. I have a good idea of what's going to happen the next chapter, but we're going to be busy with house things, I'm going to be concentrating in my original work so that maybe I can get published someday, and my Reserves unit is ramping up towards our ready year. I'm going to be busy. I will try to get the next chapter up within a month, though!**

**As always, read, enjoy, and please review!**

Going Home

How fitting that it was raining, Yang thought as she stared out over the solemn rows of tombstones arrayed neatly over low, rolling hills covered in green grass that was all the more vibrant in the dim light of the storm. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she clutched her umbrella closer, the pit-pit-patter of rain drops on its surface not enough to drown out the sobbing around her. She shifted uncomfortably in the somber black suit that she had had to buy for this event. Normally she'd be annoyed at how her hair would frizz from the damp air, but now was not the time for such frivolous thoughts. She drew in a deep breath, the sharp tang of freshly disturbed earth heady over the smell of the rain, of the wet grass, and of the crowd gathered here today to honor those fallen. She exhaled heavily, turning along with the hundreds of others as they arrived.

So many dead.

The sight of the many hearses pulling up to Vale's largest cemetery was a kick to the gut, a reminder of how tentative their lives really were. She watched, quiet and still as the pallbearers saw to their duty and formed up. The coffins with the cops came first, nine block boxes in a long line, men and women with grave faces bearing them, marching in slow step. A bagpiper posted on the highest point of the cemetery began to play a dirge, the mournful notes wailing into the air, and Yang watched as the coffins marched past her. The hospital security staff followed after the police, eight coffins bearing those who had done all they could to fight against impossible odds. Or, at least, that was the official story. She knew better. These men and women died quickly and with much violence, not after a long and desperate fight. They had been slaughtered because no one had been prepared for the attack.

And they weren't the only hospital staff to have died, either, she reminded herself as she glanced at the two coffins behind those of the security personnel. Susan Hastings, the nurse, had died because she tried to fight back, though eye witnesses had said that the attackers had seemed deeply disturbed after killing her. Feh. All the regret in the world wouldn't bring her back. And the aide Brian Kuro had been found alone, a cup of water spilled on the floor beside him. No one would likely ever know why he died. Yang guessed he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Wait.

Was that…?

It was. The two coffins bringing up the rear of the long procession of the dead were the two Beacon students who really had fought hard to protect the ICU and had died for it. The two coffins were borne by senior Beacon students, with one exception. Yang's gaze met Melody's for a brief moment, the other girl's eyes shining with terrible grief, but when she looked forward again, her face was a stony mask that was carefully schooled to hide the agony that was likely trying to claw its way out. How painful it must be, to carry your own sister to her final resting place.

At that, Yang thought about Ruby, still at the hospital, and she knew she had come perilously close to going through the same situation as Melody. It was scary to stand here and _see_ the glaring evidence that despite all the training that they went through, all the preparations they did to strengthen themselves…their lives really were very fragile. Twenty-one people had died in just a few minutes, and it was very unnerving to be standing here, watching as the coffins went to their assigned graves and were placed carefully, in preparation for their inevitable lowering into the waiting earth.

Yang shivered as the air pressure dropped even further, and the rain started to come down harder. Even though she was in the midst of the dense crowd that made its way over to loosely surround the twenty-one graves, she never felt so alone. Ruby and Weiss were both still in the hospital, and Blake...Yang frowned, eyes hardening. Blake had gone to the hospital yesterday to go over business with Weiss. When she returned, she had been a nervous wreck. Dinner had been wordless, and that night Blake had clutched her like she was afraid Yang was going to disappear. But when Yang woke up this morning, Blake's side of the bed was empty. Yang had been slightly concerned, but not overly so…at least, not at first. There had been plenty of times that Blake had to go and do something in the early morning. But as the morning went on and the time for the funeral drew closer and closer, Yang got more and more worried. When she had attempted to call Blake's scroll to remind her that her clothes were at her apartment, her worry had morphed into shock when she heard the ringtone Blake had picked for her number. She followed the slightly racy song to her living room, where she found Blake's scroll sitting on her coffee table. That shock turned into a panic.

Blake always kept her scroll on her. For a terrible moment, Yang had remembered the hours of worried torment that first year at Beacon, when Blake had revealed her affiliation with the White Fang and then disappeared. What had happened at the hospital that made Blake want to go off the grid again? The few hours left before she needed to go to the funeral had been pure anguish as she waited, hoping that Blake would show up again. It wasn't like her at all to choose to skip an event like the funeral, so maybe she had gone out to do something fast and had merely forgotten her scroll…even though she was fastidious and picky about remembering her scroll, and had never forgotten it before, but had called Yang out on forgetting hers plenty of times. It just wasn't like Blake.

Time whittled away, and it was with a heavy and worried heart that Yang had mounted Bumblebee and rode off, alone. Upon arrival at the cathedral, she had looked for Blake, hoping that she had gone there to make it to the funeral rather than go back to the apartment, but that hope turned into despair. Blake wasn't there. She had spent the next hour worrying for Blake before she had forced herself to stop and focus on the funeral. She wasn't doing the dead any honor by worrying about Blake, and so she had paid due respect to those who had died for the rest of the funeral, the only member of Team RWBY to do so. It was sad, she mused to herself as the last coffin was placed on the framework that would lower it into the grave. All of these people had paid the ultimate price for them, and only one of them showed up to pay them respect. But at least she showed up to pay respect, and not turn this into a publicity stunt, she thought with a sneer as she glanced discretely at a group of people surrounded by security personnel.

True, maybe the Council was here out of a sense of sympathy. But they had to know that even if they came here with the purest of intentions, the news media would make it political. And she couldn't help but think that this solemn event was being used to bolster support for the war. Maybe she'd think differently if the Council had banned news crews from being present in order to preserve the sanctity of this event, but there they were, slightly removed from the funeral, flocked like so many starving vultures waiting for their chance. Some of them were already filming and talking on their microphones, their words a distant, barely distinguishable buzz that thankfully didn't provide too much of an annoyance…Yang was only aware of it because she was focused on it.

"Miss Xiao Long?"

Yang started, broken out of her thoughts. Blinking, she looked to the tall, reedy man who had addressed her. "Yes?" she asked, clutching her umbrella a little closer. He produced a large bouquet of white roses from behind his back.

"They're about to lower the coffins. These are for the graves, miss."

She reached out, accepted the flowers, more aware than ever of the wet breeze brushing her exposed skin, the tattoo of rain on the surface of the umbrellas, and the sobs around her. She hefted the bouquet, all too aware of the symbolism of the white petals. There was suddenly a soft, mechanical whirring, and she looked up as all the coffins began their slow, final journey into the waiting earth. Just after they began to move, the bagpiper on the hill began to play again, joined by other pipers hidden from view. Yang listened to the first few notes blankly, at first more focused on getting in the line to drop her flowers into the waiting graves, but then she realized that she actually knew the song.

She couldn't remember the name of the composer, but he had written the symphony while he was away visiting the other kingdoms. This portion was written while he had been thinking of his home in Vale and was gripped with homesickness. Upon hearing about his motivation for the bittersweet and mournfully joyous section, listeners had named the few minutes of the overall symphony 'Going Home.' Yang didn't know much about classical music, preferring much more modern styles, but she was suddenly very glad that she could at least name this one piece, realize the significance for this event. These twenty-one may have died, but the music was a hope, a dream, a promise that they were going somewhere better…their souls were _going home_. Yang bit her lip as the tears finally came, the numbness within her melting as she finally, truly accepted what these people had lost and how close she had really come to losing Ruby.

Tears silently streaming down her face, she pulled the first of twenty-one roses from the bouquet, holding it over the yawning hole that held the sleek, mahogany coffin. "Thank you," she whispered past a constricted throat, "and I'm so, so sorry." She let the rose go, and watched as it fell through the rain before landing on the coffin's lid, joining those roses that had been dropped before it and waiting for all those yet to be dropped. She paused before continuing, looking down, searing the stark contrast of the white petals, the green stem, the gleaming wood and shining brass, and the rich, almost black earth into her memory. She would never forget this moment. Later, after the funeral, she would make the decision to go and talk to Weiss, and find out exactly what happened at the hospital to drive Blake away, but now? Now she existed solely for the dead. She had not been able to prevent their deaths…she would not do them dishonor by forgetting this moment, where she stood alone amongst the living, a bouquet of roses with petals the color of death held in her hand, tears running down her face, and regret heavy in her heart.

Then there was a soft, polite clearing of a throat, and Yang realized that she was holding up the line. She shivered, cast one last look at the grave, turned, and proceeded to the next grave. One down, twenty more to go…

xxxXXXxxx

Weiss dressed slowly, ever mindful of her shoulder. Still, it felt positively wonderful to be in her fitted slacks, and now she was struggling to put her bra on. She still didn't have full range of motion with her right arm, but the wound was closed, and there was no sign of infection. Grunting in frustration, she bit her lip as she squirmed _just_ right aaaand…there! Finally! She winced as she brought her right arm around and rotated it, working out the pervasive soreness that still lingered. The doctor said that that would probably last for a week or so, and that they'd keep her on antibiotics for that long, just to make sure she didn't get an infection. At least she'd be able to go home now. She picked up her silk button-up blouse, but paused, glancing out the window at the dark clouds racing by, the occasional flicker of lightning, and the sheets of rain coming down. At least the storm had waited until the funeral had been done before it really started coming down. Her eyes flicked to the now dark television. She had watched some of the funeral on the news channel, but she had grown sick of the newscasters linking the funeral to the growing war efforts that she had shut it off. She had felt bad doing so, as she should have watched it for the sake of those that had died, but the more she watched, the more the rage had built within her, a sickness of heart that made her want to strike out at something. How _dare_ the warhawks take these people's sacrifices and twist it around to fit their agenda?!

And so she had shut the TV off with a grimace, and she had clutched the remote for a long, long moment, tempted to hurl it against the wall. Really, the only thing that stayed her hand was the knowledge that if she did, the call bell would go off, and then she'd have to deal with some concerned aide showing up, asking if she needed anything, right when she would be rather volatile and prone to snapping at him or her for just doing their job. She frowned softly as she slowly fed her right arm through her blouse's sleeve, careful to not disturb the bulky bandage that dominated her shoulder. The bra straps had been easy, but with the shirt…

Still, it was so nice to feel the cool touch of silk on her skin, rather than that horribly low count cotton they used with the hospital gowns. Maybe she'd start going into the hospital gown manufacturing business…get some color other than that horrid green, and have a better quality cotton than whatever it was they used…felt like burlap, she swore. With some more careful maneuvering, she got her left arm through its sleeve, and with a grimace, she pulled her hair out of the back of her shirt. Despite the use of no rinse shower caps, her hair still felt terribly greasy, and she hadn't been able to take a proper shower because of the wound. Luckily, she had had one of her servants bring her toiletries, which were _so_ much better than what the hospital had to offer its patients. But inasmuch as her brush did keep the knots from her hair, she was in desperate need for some washing up. That, and she needed to shave…

She finished buttoning up her shirt, and picked up the sheaf of papers that were her discharge instructions. She glanced through them again, her mind returning to the funeral. Though most of the camera time had been spent on the families of the victims and the Council, she had seen Yang. Blake hadn't been by her side, which wasn't good, and once again, Weiss wondered if she had been too harsh. But no, she couldn't take her words back, and she had done the right thing, difficult though it may have been.

As if to interrupt her dark thoughts, someone knocked on the door, and it opened far enough for Penny to stick her head in the door. "Salutations, friend!" she sang out with a million kilowatt smile, and Weiss couldn't help but smile in return.

"Hey, Penny, did you get my messages?"

"Yes, I did! And I can assure you, it is one hundred and _ten_ percent doable!" Weiss actually sagged with relief at that. That meant that…

"Are you absolutely certain?" she asked, needing to be sure.

"Yes, father has been looking into that for a few years now, and we have a way to guarantee positive connection between the host and the implant. Some further surgery might need to be done, but we should be a-okay!"

Weiss nodded. "Let him know that there will be no expenses spared. The Schnee Dust Company will front the manufacturing costs, in return for it being your father's best work. Understood?"

Penny nodded, her smile becoming reassuring rather than energetic. "I have all the measurements necessary, and we can be in contact with the hospital throughout the manufacturing process. In two weeks we should be ready to proceed."

"Perfect. I'm just about to be discharged, and I'm going to see Ruby after that. Do you want to tag along?"

Penny shook her head. "I visited her a bit earlier, and I need to get in contact with father in order to start the process."

"Okay. And, Penny?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you…for coming, and for being here when we needed you, and for everything else."

Penny's smile became softer, almost introspective. "Of course. After all, isn't that what friends are for?" Her head tilted to the side, her eyes squeezing shut with joy as her smile returned to its full power. "I'll see you later, okay?" With that, she skipped out the door, humming happily, and Weiss felt her own smile slide away as she reminded herself that with all her outward innocent mannerisms, Penny was the only one to have killed one of the hospital attackers, and she had done so with no hesitation nor mercy. Sometimes it was easy to forget what they really were, easy to pass it off when they were merely killing Grimm, but those skills they needed to survive out there could be used to great effect while within the borders of the kingdoms…as she was beginning to learn.

There was another knock on her door, this one more reserved, and one of the aides stuck her head into the room. "Miss, are you ready to go? I have a wheelchair ready for you."

Weiss gathered her things into the oversized bag she used for emergency overnights, and stood. "Sorry to be a bother, but I won't be needing a wheelchair. I will be leaving the hospital, but I am visiting another patient first."

The aide paused, thrown off be her confident words. "But, hospital policy states that…" she started, but Weiss cut her off with an impatient wave.

"Yes, hospital policy states that you should take me, put me in that wheelchair, and bring me directly to the entrance that I request. However, I'm just going to stand up, turn around, and head right back into the hospital, thus making your bringing me to the entrance a waste of both of our times. That said, I really don't want to waste your time. I'm sure you have a hundred other tasks you need to do, and taking me out in a wheelchair that I don't want nor do I need cuts into the time you need to do all those things. Now the only question that you have to ask yourself is if you _really_ want to waste _my_ time, knowing just who I am." With those words, she leveled a flat and expressionless stare at the aide…oh, what was her name…Becky? Becky sounded right. Becky fidgeted under her gaze, before opening the door all the way and standing to the side.

"Thank you for staying at the hospital," she murmured, flushing from apparent embarrassment, and Weiss felt a flicker of guilt for bullying her. She had just been trying to do her job, and Weiss knew that part of the reason behind the wheelchair was because the hospital would be liable if a patient were to fall between the time of discharge and actually leaving the hospital grounds. If she were to fall down, she would be perfectly in her rights to sue the hospital, and Miss Becky would probably be out of a job. But a hospital aide really didn't want to annoy one of the richest people in all the kingdoms. Still…

"Listen, Becky…if anyone asks, you did your job and brought me to the door, and then I returned to the hospital as a visitor. I'm just saving us both some time, okay?"

The smile she got in return was relieved, and Weiss nodded at her as she strode past, heels clicking on the floor as she began to make her way to Ruby's room. She wasn't paying quite as much attention as she should have been when she walked past this floor's waiting room, and so was taken by surprise when the two hands reached out and grabbed from behind her before pulling her into the room and slamming her against the wall. She cried out in pain as her shoulder screamed in protest. She still managed to drop her overnight bag and bring her hands up defensively, and was _so_ ready to make the fool who _dared_ to touch her pay dearly when she realized that she recognized her assailant. "Yang?! What the hell!" She brushed Yang's hands from her shoulders before gently probing at her right shoulder. "It's still healing, you ass, and if I have to go back to the hospital because you reopened-"

"What did you say to her?" Yang cut her off as she stepped back, folding her arms angrily, and Weiss realized that Yang was between her and the exit now. Great.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, carefully rolling her right shoulder. It didn't feel like it was going to open up again…

"Blake. What did you say to her? She was going to be at the funeral, but last night she came home a train wreck. Barely even said two words to me, and this morning she was gone."

Weiss scoffed. "I'm not Blake's keeper, and she's a big girl, she can handle herself. Besides, did you try calling her scroll? Maybe she just wants to be left alone for a while."

"She left her scroll at home."

That brought Weiss up short. "She did? But…she _never_ leaves her scroll at home!"

"Yeah, which is why I'm concerned, and why I want to know exactly what you said to her!"

At that, Weiss crossed her own arms. "I'm sorry, but that's official SDC business, and I cannot discuss it with you without Blake's consent." She tried to keep her tone professional, but couldn't help the small amount of petulance that crept in.

Yang stared at her in shock for a moment before her lip curled back in disgust. Then she exploded into motion, her arm a blur as she drove her fist against the wall. Weiss flinched at the sudden violence and Yang stepped forward, crowding into her space as she got right in her face. "Don't give me that bullshit, Weiss! Your friend is out there, and could be in danger, and you fall back on company business?! The fuck!" she shouted, irises starting to bleed red.

Weiss tried to push her back, get her out of her space, but it was like trying to move a brick wall. "Back off, Yang, I did what I had to! Maybe if she had been more open, we wouldn't have had to get to this point, but she decided to keep the whole thing a secret, and I had to act in an official capacity!"

Yang did step back at that, her face confused. "Are you talking…about that Faunus I captured more'n a week ago?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "You…knew?!"

Yang scoffed. "Of course I did. Junior tipped me off that this guy had connections with the Crimson Claw, so I captured him. Handed him over to Blake, easy as can be."

Weiss still stared at her, horror roiling through her. "You _knew_ and you didn't fucking _tell_ me?!"

Yang frowned defensively. "Tell you what?! That I captured this guy? No, I left that up to Blake, figured she'd let you know we nabbed the guy. Are you saying that she didn't tell…?" Her eyes grew momentarily distant and thoughtful. "…Weiss, I didn't think she'd keep that a secret. She wasn't supposed to. Why would she…Weiss, what did she do?" All anger had fled from Yang's face, and had been replaced by worry.

"Something I can't talk about here." She glanced longingly out the door. Around the corner were the stairs that would bring her to Ruby. But right now Blake needed to be found. Weiss hoped that Blake was okay, and that she hadn't done anything rash, but without her scroll…she needed to be found. "Okay, we're going to the mansion, and we're going to figure out where Blake is. While there, we'll also go over what's happened, okay?" she asked, and Yang nodded. "Good. How'd you get here?"

"I rode Bumblebee."

Weiss blinked, looked Yang over more carefully, and noticed that she was soaked from the waist down, and that her hair was still wet. "Okay. I have a driver waiting. We'll both take that, and tomorrow I'll have you brought over to get Bumblebee, once the weather has broken. Sound fair?" Yang nodded, and Weiss bent down and picked her bag back up. _Sorry, Ruby, looks like I'm going to be going home sooner than I expected. I wish I could see you right now, but I know you'd want me to find Blake first. I'll see you tomorrow. I promise._

With a confident stride, she stepped past Yang and made her way to the elevators. She may have acted in the capacity of the head of the SDC when she last spoke to Blake, but that didn't change the fact that Blake was still a friend in need of help, and she would not abandon her in the time of need.

After all, Blake deserved more than that…


	13. The First Steps are the Hardest

**AN: Wow. So, yeah. Things happened, and this is really, really late. I apologize for the six-plus month hiatus, but my wife and I moved, we're expecting a baby, and just a bunch of stuff happened. We also stopped watching RWBY for a spell, and boy oh boy, was the 3rd season a doozy. Obviously, the events that take place change how this universe is expected to happen. I think I'm going to change how Winter is, and have her like she is in the show, very strict and militarized, so my chapters with her are going to change accordingly.**

**Maybe the biggest thing is that the 3rd season climax never happens. In this fanfic, Pyrrha (a veteran of fighting tournaments) realizes that she is being manipulated in her fight versus Penny. She concedes the fight to Penny and lets the judges know that something isn't right. Ruby returns from her fight with Mercury with the simple knowledge that he isn't really hurt. The tournament is put on hold while they investigate what's going on, and Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald have to run, as they are now wanted. Ironwood plays off his hunch, and sends Torchwick to Atlas where he can be interrogated properly. **

**Adam does try to fight, and that goes about as well as you can expect, but he does goad Yang into trying to hit him, and she recognizes his trap at the last second, and pulls her arms back so that he hits Ember Celica. He still does a lot of damage, but she doesn't lose her arm. The first chapter will be edited to reflect this. As far as Cinder goes, with her face now being plastered across all the kingdoms, she is eventually cornered and there is a major fight to defeat her and her partial Autumn powers. The battle is long, but the good guys win. Pyrrha decides to not take Autumn's powers, and with Cinder defeated, Autumn is able to pass normally without fear of her powers being stolen by malcontents.**

**So that's the basic gist of this timeline. This chapter is also the first to really deal with Ruby's recovery. As the title suggests, sometimes the hardest part of doing something is gathering the strength and courage to take those first steps.**

**As always, read, enjoy, and please review!**

The First Steps Are The Hardest

Ruby grimaced as she distrustfully prodded the spongy mass that sat on her plate with her spoon. This is what she had been excited for after they finally cleared her to come off the liquids diet she had been on this morning? She had been excited for this ugly ball of sticky, slightly orange dough? It just wasn't fair! After so many days of having nothing but juice, water, and protein shakes, this first real meal was supposed to be happy! Granted, the cups of liquid on her tray were still thickened, and her hand gently caressed the outside of her throat at that thought. With her damaged throat, not only could she not handle extremely hot or extremely cold substances, so no flavored ice or hot tea, but she also couldn't swallow normal liquids very well, so anything she drank had to be thickened. Yes, she could drink thickened liquids, but their texture left SO much to be desired. So far as she was concerned, water should not be sludge, dangit!

Then she did it again, and she _hated_ herself for doing it. With her spoon in her left hand, she reflexively reached for her cup with her right arm, and her amputated limb waved uselessly in the air. Anger flared, hot and intense, and she threw the spoon onto the tray as tears welled up in her eye. Why couldn't she bloody remember that her hand was gone?! She sucked in a deep, calming breath as her left hand came up to rest gently on her brow as she focused herself. After a few moments of deep breathing, she felt calmer and more centered, and she sighed as she deliberately picked up the Styrofoam cup with her left hand and sucked at the straw. She grimaced as the thick liquid resisted the suction before finally going up the straw and into her mouth. She suppressed the shudder that threatened to run through her body as the goo ran down her still painful throat. It just wasn't right…but it wasn't as wrong as the monstrosity on her plate. Yesterday she had ordered pizza, and had been looking forward to lunch since she had placed the order. But now, as she looked at the blob set before her, she felt terribly cheated. It was orange and spongy, and looked nothing like what it was supposed to be. Even worse, it smelled exactly like pizza, the scent decidedly not matching up with the image.

With a look of bitter determination, she gently lay down the cup and picked up her spoon from where she had thrown it. She collected a spoonful of the mash and stuck it in her mouth, all the while trying to ignore how the ball of blegh looked. _At least it tastes like pizza_, she grumbled to herself as she chewed, not at all enjoying the spongy, sticky texture of the food. Despite her displeasure, she continued to eat, knowing that she needed the calories for the days ahead. So far physical therapy had been light, mainly stretching exercises that were supposed to keep her limbs and skin stretched, but she couldn't wait to get out of bed and get moving. And to do that, she needed to eat, take in more calories. Grimacing once more, she took another bite, trying to focus on the taste, not the texture.

She was almost done with the meal when someone knocked on her door, and she looked up, curious. She wasn't expecting any visitors, but then the curtain opened, revealing her father and Uncle Qrow. For a moment, she smiled widely, glad to actually see her father and uncle. She knew that they had visited, but she hadn't been awake for any of their time here, so it was a real treat to actually be able to enjoy their visit…but then her grin tugged at the burns on her face. The pain flared up, and her smile died. As Taiyang strode into the room, his relieved smile also died away as his eyes flicked to her ruined right arm and to the bandages that covered her damaged face. "Hey there, Xiao Meigui," he said with a small, sad smile that died as quickly as its predecessor as he sat in the chair by her bed. "How you doing, kiddo?"

Ruby glanced at Uncle Qrow as he stayed back, by the door, arms folded, leaned against the wall. He looked…older, more worn down, and worry fluttered through her chest before she turned to her dad. "Everything hurts," she croaked, once more angry that her throat was still so damaged, but she brushed that anger away impatiently. "But day by day the pain is less. Hopefully soon I'll be able to come off the meds."

Taiyang nodded, and his hands fluttered in his lap, his eyes once more flicking to her arm. "That's good, that's good. Well, not good that you're here, but good that you are getting better." He cleared his throat awkwardly, and an uncomfortable silence took hold for a moment. Suddenly he perked up. "Oh! Funny story for you. Did you know that the hospital really frowns on trying to smuggle non-service animals in?"

"I told you it was a bad idea," Uncle Qrow groused from where he was standing.

Ruby snorted at that, her spirits lifting. "You tried to smuggle Ein in?" she asked, incredulous.

"Well, yeah, I figured he'd be just the thing to brighten your day up. I mean, it shouldn't be too long before you're out of here, and…" he said, but his words drew to a stop when he noticed the sad look on her face. "Ruby?"

She shook her head, ignoring the tugging pain that was part of her life, now. "Dad, I'm going to be here for a while. This isn't a simple fix, I really got hurt."

He flinched, and she felt terrible for her words, but if she couldn't deny the truth…neither should he. He glanced once more at her arm, then looked away, his shoulders slumping. "We should have been there for you."

Ruby closed her eye, gritting her teeth at the tears that started to gather. "Dad, you couldn't have known. No one knew, that's why it happened. You were on a Hunt, and Uncle Qrow was off gathering information on the Crimson Claw. Things happen."

She heard him give an explosive sigh, and she opened her eye to look at him. So…defeated looking, so tired and worn down. "Things?" he asked bitterly. "Ruby, losing your…that isn't something…I just don't…" he ground out, flustered, unable to finish a thought, and apparently also unable to actually say what had happened. "I don't know what to do!" he finally settled on, voice fierce. "When Yang was wounded by that asshole Taurus, at least I could reassure myself in that it wasn't permanent. But you…" and once more he drew to a stop, unable to continue. "My dear Xiao Meigui, I failed you as a father. I should have been there for you!"

"You were doing something more important, protecting the defenseless from the Grimm," she shot back.

"But I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most."

"I was not alone," she reminded him gently, "and I've already forgiven you, for there is nothing to forgive."

He turned to look at her, despair and shame heavy in the cast of his face. "Though you may feel that, Xiao Meigui, I have not and will _never_ forgive myself."

Ruby didn't know how to answer that, and when she glanced at Uncle Qrow for possible guidance, he just shrugged and shook his head minutely. Once more, an awkward silence ruled, but now no one broke it. Ruby loved her father, but now she wished he weren't there, and how could she say that? Then she noticed movement out in the hall, and almost gave a sigh of relief. "Dad, physical therapy is here, it's time for my appointment." And even though him leaving was exactly what she wanted, she still couldn't help the stab of heartache that flared at the unmistakable relief that flooded into his eyes as he stood up. Their parting words were hollow, almost without meaning, and she couldn't help the bitterness that welled up at his eagerness to leave. Was her body truly so hideous now that her father was practically running out the door to escape her presence?

But Uncle Qrow remained behind, casting a sad glance out the door at Taiyang's retreating back. "Don't be too hard on him, kiddo," he said as he uncrossed his arms and stood away from the wall. "This reminds him a lot of your mother's death. He blames himself for this, and I don't think that will ever change. But don't think that he isn't concerned…he is, but he doesn't know how to react. Just give him some time, okay?" And with a final sad, tired smile, he slipped out the door, nodding respectfully to the two therapists standing outside. She watched as he rejoined her dad, and they both made their way off the unit as the two therapists entered her room.

It was the standard song and dance at that point. They introduced themselves, Mary and Jack, and asked for her full name and date of birth, and she answered them robotically, resisting the urge to roll her eye as she did so. She knew why they did so, but it did get tiresome to answer the same question every time someone walked in the door. But then she noticed the equipment that they had with them, and curiosity replaced the exasperation. "Elastic bands?" she asked, brow quirking.

"Yes, we've found it to be better to start off with these, to gauge where you're at before we go onto the more challenging workouts," Mary replied as she quickly sorted the different colored bands. "You'll be remaining in bed for this session, of course," she continued and Ruby had to fight the urge to laugh. Didn't they know who she was, what she was physically capable of?

"I thought I'd be walking…" she started leadingly, and felt a flare of competitiveness light up at the quick glance the two of them shot each other. They didn't think she could.

Almost to clarify her suspicions, Jack smiled apologetically. "I'm sure that as a Huntress you are used to being very physically capable, and I don't doubt for a second that when you are in top form, you'd be able to do things that I could only dream about. But you've been bedbound for quite a while, and spent a fair amount of that time in a medically induced coma. Muscle breaks down rapidly in those conditions, so you've lost a lot of strength," he explained, and she immediately thought of how weak she had felt when she had first awoken, but she brushed the momentary doubt aside as he continued. "According to your chart, you haven't been out of bed yet, right?" She declined to answer that, remaining stubbornly silent, annoyance flaring at his patient silence. "Part of that is because we haven't come in to evaluate you, based on your doctor's opinion. However, if you want, once we're done with our routine, if you'd like to try and stand, we'll help you. Deal?"

This time she did roll her eye. "Deal," she replied with a confident smirk. This was going to be too easy. She watched as Mary tied a bright green strap to a bar underneath the bed before handing it to her.

"This is a ten pound resistant band. Keep it taut at the neutral point, just like…that," she said as she guided Ruby's hand to the right point. "Now, do one set of twenty bicep curls."

Ruby rolled her eye again, and began to do the exercise. The first few reps were easy, and for a moment pure elation flared through her, and she reveled in finally being able to exercise again. But then the smile dropped away from her face, and she looked at the band in confusion before turning a questioning eye on Jack and Mary.

Their eyes…such a sad knowledge in them, though their faces were kept carefully passive. They knew, they _had_ to know that her arm was already burning as she did the eleventh rep, the muscles in her arm quivering as she tried to return to the neutral in a slow, deliberate movement. She grit her teeth as she went into the twelfth rep, refusing to give up, but she suddenly realized that her Huntress posturing wasn't going to do her a damn thing right now. These two were professionals, and had to have dealt with similar situations in the past. "How much strength," she ground out as she dropped her arm again before going into the thirteenth, "have I lost?"

Jack's voice was gentle as he answered her. "You lost about fifty percent of your muscle strength the sixteen days you were in a medical coma. In the week since you woke up, just being awake and moving around in bed on your own helped you retain some muscle mass, but you were still bed bound. It's estimated you lost an additional ten percent in muscle strength in that week."

She snarled something fierce and angry at that news, foul words that couldn't be repeated in polite company. But the surge of burning rage at her own weakness gave her the energy to complete the first set with ease. There was a moment of awkward silence as Jack and Mary nervously glanced at one another. Then Ruby sighed. Sitting here and feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to get her better. "What's the next exercise?" she asked gently, and they burst into relieved movement.

"How about an overhead arm extension, for your triceps?" Mary asked eagerly, and Ruby nodded. Mary disappeared behind the bed, and soon pressed the taut band into her hand, and Ruby wordlessly began the exercise, nodding at the therapists' words of encouragement. As she was afraid of, this exercise also proved more of a challenge than it should have, but she refused to give up. _You've hit rock bottom, only way to go is up_, she reminded herself as the sweat began to collect on her brow. _Work through the pain, push past the self doubt, keep pushing! Weiss is waiting for you._

Exercise followed exercise, and though her mind told her that each of them should be easy, she found herself struggling. Even before thirty minutes had past, she was trembling from the exertion and was bathed in sweat, but still doggedly pushed forward. "Come on, Ruby!" she ground out under her ragged breath, distantly aware of the words of encouragement from the two therapists. "Think of how heavy Crescent Rose is!" she hissed as she rotated her trunk again, the fifty pound elastic band secured by her left shoulder straining against the bed. "Get stronger! Get tougher! Fucking _fight_!"

And fight she did. She pushed as hard as she could, and did exactly what Mary and Jack asked her to do, pushing through the exponentially growing pain from her wounds, pushing through the weakness of her own body, pushing through her doubts and fears. She had to get stronger. She had to! Weiss was waiting for her!

Then, after a small eternity, Mary was packing away the bands as Jack was showing her all the exercises she just did on his scroll, highlighting the different areas that received the most benefit. Biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back, hips, thighs, calves…one thing for certain, she'd never look at rubber bands or her bed the same way again. Who would have thought that when put together, they made a damn torture device.

"…but you did very well, certainly better than we expected. Is there anything else we can do for you, Miss Rose?"

"Yeah," Ruby gasped as she fought to catch her breath. "I want to use the bathroom, and sit in my chair."

And once more, Mary and Jack glanced at each other before looking back at her. Ruby wondered how she must look, hair mussed up, still gasping for breath, covered in sweat, her muscles trembling…and if she was showing how much pain she was in, her face must be terribly pinched. "Miss Rose, after that workout, I don't know if it's a good idea…"

"I want to get out of bed!" she snapped, the pain making her voice harsher than she meant, but she was suddenly so damn tired of laying down, she had to get up! "That was the deal, you said if I felt like it, you'd help me up! Now do your damn job!"

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them, especially once she saw the minute flinch in Jack's eyes. She wasn't even sure where the harsh words had come from, and she knew she was being needlessly mean, but so were they, if they said that they were going to help her up and then decide not to. She grit her teeth and grasped the bed railing with her hand before pulling herself into a fully seated position, tears gathering in her eyes from the fresh wave of pain that burst from her wounded areas. She relaxed her grip, and started to slip back, and her amputated arm flailed uselessly before she caught the railing again and pulled herself back up, an explosive anger surging up with the pain. "God fucking _damn_ it!" she seethed as she tried to wrench her amputated arm out of her sight. The limb moving oddly, _unnaturally_ before the end impacted with the bed, and a bright burst of white pain filled her vision. She almost, _almost_ screamed in pain, but instead slumped forward and swallowed the scream.

She remained in that hunched over position for a long, long moment before she finally straightened. "Well, are you going to help or not?" she snapped as she carefully swung her thin legs over the edge of the bed.

"We'll help you stand up," Jack replied, voice carefully devoid of emotion. "Then we can attempt a few steps to see how you feel."

Ruby grinned mirthlessly as she shook her head. "Nah, you don't get it. I _am_ going to use the bathroom, and I _am _going to sit in my chair. I'm a twenty-one year old woman and a Huntress, and I am so sick and tired of using a bedpan or, God forbid, shitting in my own bed."

"We definitely sympathize with you, Miss Rose," Mary said as she and Jack moved to her sides, careful of her IV pole. "Alright, then, on the count of three?"

She grit her teeth, nodded, and tried to prepare for the agony that was coming. Jack's voice was calm, soothing, and reassuring as he counted slowly, and upon his saying three, Ruby put all of her energy into standing, ignoring the pain that threatened to obliterate her, ignoring her quaking legs that threatened to dump her on the floor, and ignoring the sobs that tore out of her damaged throat. Her hand lashed out and seized her IV pole, drawing it close for comfort and stability, but then the terrible shock of standing for the first time in three weeks passed, and she was able to focus more on what she was doing. She let out a long, slow, shaky breath as she widened her stance, tears pricking at her eye. "I'm okay, I think," she hissed.

"Okay, let's take those steps forward, alright?"

And they did. Oh, her steps were weak as a newborn fawn's, and she had a death grip on her IV pole and depended on its stability, but she still walked, dammit! It took them four minutes to make it to the bathroom, but they did make it, and after Ruby used it and then discovered the impossibility of washing your hands when you only have one left (which brought on a fresh wave of disgusted anger), Jack and Mary got her to her chair, covered her lap in a blanket, and left.

But even after they left and even through the pain and exhaustion that claimed every inch of her body, Ruby felt a fierce, joyous determination that was slowly overcoming her anger. As much as her muscles quivered, she reminded herself as she struggled to suck more of her thickened water, that just meant that tomorrow she'd be that much stronger. She would continue to push herself to her absolute limits in order to get out of the hospital as soon as possible. She may never hunt again, (and oh, was that still such a bitter pill to swallow!) but her team needed her. It was with this thought that she continued to stretch and rotate her limbs, working strength and flexibility into them. _Don't worry, Weiss_, she thought as her breath began to come harder and sweat once more began to form. _Your team leader isn't going to fail you now!_


End file.
